Error 404: how to recover broken web link

How many times have you come across a "404 error" or "Oops! Page not found" while browsing? Frustrating, right? What you might not know is that you can still access an older version of the page you’re looking for. Let me show you how with a simple tool: the Wayback Machine.

Step 1: Visit the Internet Archive

Go to the Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/ and paste the unavailable link into the search box. Then, press Enter.

What is the Wayback Machine?

Think of it as a digital time machine. Using software called crawlers, it scans and saves snapshots of publicly accessible web pages. These snapshots capture a page’s content and files at a specific moment in time. Over the years, multiple snapshots of the same page are archived, letting you "travel back in time" and view its older versions.
Note: not all web pages are archived because some websites block crawlers.

Step 2: Explore the snapshots

After a short wait, under the WayBack Machine searchbox, will appear a timeline with a calendar below. Select a year to view all the snapshots taked during that period appear in the calendar.

Click on a specific date to view the page as it appeared then. If possible, always select those highlighted in blue. Starting by the most recent snapshots you will get "page not found" errors, but keep explore the timeline by going backwards and you will find what you are looking for. That's all.

Insights:

• It is named in reference to the WABAC (pronounced way-back) time machine used by protagonist Mr. Peabody in the 1960 cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle.
• The WayBack Machine was created by a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, the Internet Archive, which has supported this project since 2001.
• The Internet Archive provides free browser extensions. While browsing, the extension detects any 404 or "Page Not Found" error codes and automatically checks if there are snapshots of the URL in the WayBack Machine archive. By clicking on the extension icon to the right of the address bar, or by right-clicking on the page and selecting the WayBack Machine item from the drop-down menu, you will be able to access the last working snapshot, the first snapshot or the archive. Much more convenient than navigating through snapshots manually.
• Next to the CALENDAR section are others: CHANGES, SUMMARY, SITE MAP and URLs. They are used to perform in-depth analysis of our URL. For example, from the CHANGES section you can compare two time versions of the same web page and visually see its changes, such as additions or deletions.
• For more information visit the official FAQ.