The status of a URL could change at any time. Scribe’s standard is to check URLs to address any inactive links up until the point of first publication.
Check URLs
To review dead links, process the file to ePub 3 in the Digital Hub. Open the file using Kindle Previewer and run the Quality Checks to view a report about potentially problematic links. Valid URLs will be listed if they are interrupted by a page ID. Review any listed URL to confirm if it leads to a nonexistent web page and needs to be resolved.
This step is indicated in Scribe’s Quality Control Checklists and Regular Expressions Resource page.
Scribe recommends running these checks up to the point of first publication (the time when the PDF is approved to go to print or when the e-book is created for digital-only publications).
Add a Disclaimer to the Copyright Page
Because the status of a URL can change at any time, Scribe recommends adding a disclaimer to the copyright page of every book that contains URLs. This disclaimer should appear in all versions (print and e-book).
References to internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor [Press Name] is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Label Dead Links
If a link is no longer active, add a label that says “(no longer extant)” following the URL.
Do Not Address Links After First Publication
The status of a URL can change at any time: active links could become inactive and inactive links could return.
A common scenario for preparing files is to finalize the print version and then to create the e-book. If a link has become inactive after files have been approved for publication, Scribe will not unlink the URLs if inactive links are discovered at that point.
For new editions, Scribe will recheck all URLs.
Scribe will recheck all URLs for reprints upon request as part of the update process. (Scribe recommends adding a disclaimer to the copyright page as part of the reprint preparation process.)
Kindle Hyperlink Guidelines
The Kindle Hyperlink Guidelines page describes Amazon’s recommendations and policies. Links to prohibited content will lead to the suppression of the book by Amazon.