URL validator — check if a link is correctly formed.
Paste any URL to check its protocol, host, and structure against the rules a browser uses — and see exactly what's wrong if it isn't valid.
Validate a URL
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What does "valid" mean for a URL?
Validity is about form, not fate — a valid URL is built correctly, whether or not the destination still exists.
A URL is valid when it follows the structural rules every browser relies on: a supported protocol like https:, a properly formed host, and no illegal characters like raw spaces sitting where they don't belong.
That's different from a link being "live." A URL can be perfectly valid and still point to a page that's been deleted, a server that's down, or a typo'd domain nobody owns — validity checks the address is well-formed, not that anyone answers when you knock.
This distinction matters when you're debugging: a validation error means the link itself is broken and needs to be rewritten; a link that validates but doesn't load means the problem is on the other end.
Validity vs. reachability
What this tool checks.
| Check | Passes when… |
|---|---|
| Protocol | The URL starts with a recognized scheme, like https:// or http://. |
| Host format | The domain has no spaces or invalid characters and includes a valid structure (e.g. a dot-separated domain). |
| No raw spaces | Spaces inside the URL are encoded as %20 rather than left as literal spaces. |
| Parseable overall | The whole string can be split into protocol, host, path, query, and fragment without ambiguity. |
Where this comes in handy.
Form input checks
Quickly test what a "website" field should accept before wiring up validation logic in your own app.
Cleaning up spreadsheets
Spot malformed URLs in a list of links pasted from a CRM, spreadsheet, or CMS export.
Debugging broken links
Narrow down whether a broken link is a formatting mistake or a genuinely dead destination.
Checking pasted links
Confirm a link copied from an email or chat didn't pick up a stray space or missing protocol.
QA and testing
Sanity-check generated or templated URLs before they ship in an email campaign or app.
Teaching URL rules
Show clearly why a particular string does or doesn't qualify as a valid web address.
Common questions
Does "valid" mean the website is online? +
No. This checks structure only — protocol, host, and format. A URL can be perfectly valid and still point to a page that's offline, deleted, or never existed. Confirming a site actually responds requires a server-side check, since browsers block that kind of cross-site request.
Why is a URL without "https://" flagged as invalid? +
Without a protocol, a browser can't tell where the host ends and the path begins in every case, so it isn't a complete, well-formed address — even though people commonly type domains without one and expect it to work.
Are ftp:// or mailto: links valid URLs? +
They're valid URLs in the general sense, but this tool flags non-http(s) protocols separately since it's built for checking web links specifically.
Can a URL be valid but still unsafe? +
Yes — validity says nothing about trustworthiness. A well-formed URL can still point to a phishing site or malicious download; always verify the domain itself, not just its format.
Why does a valid-looking link still fail here? +
Usually a small formatting issue — a raw space, a missing protocol, or an unencoded character. The check list above the input shows exactly which rule failed.