Brokenlink checker not working for HTTP links?

Article Overview:

This article will cover how you can achieve the following:

Ensuring that the Brokenlink checker extension validates both http:// and https:// URLs correctly.

Problem Statement:

The standard Brokenlink Checker was initially validating only https:// URLs as valid, while http:// URLs were marked as invalid.

Solution:

To address this issue, changes were made to the extension code to ensure that both http:// and https:// URLs are validated as valid. The updated extension now passes the production journey checks successfully.

Steps to resolve:

1. Revised Extension: checkLinks
   The updated extension includes specific changes to allow validation of both http:// and https:// URLs. Ensure that your Virtuoso environment is using the latest version of this extension.
   
   
2. Understand the Root Cause:
   The initial issue arose because the production server did not allow the HEAD method, resulting in a 405 Method Not Allowed error in the console. The HEAD method is typically used in HTTP requests to retrieve the headers of a resource without fetching its actual content.
   
   
3. Possible Causes for the 405 Error:
   
   
   • Server Configuration: The server may be configured to block the HEAD method.
   • Web Application Business Logic: The application may have logic that restricts certain methods.
   • Web Application Firewalls: Security settings might prevent the HEAD method from being executed.
   • Routing Configurations: The server's routing could be configured to stop certain methods like HEAD.

Example:

Scenario: A customer encountered issues where their http:// URLs were being invalidated by the extension, while https:// URLs were validated without any problems. After applying the updated extension, both http:// and https:// URLs were validated correctly.