Alt-Web Design & Publishing

Remove Unused Site Files

Dreamweaver "Check Links"

After Dreamweaver checks links in your Local Site folder, it also provides you with a report of all unused files, which you can either delete or re-link.

Orphan File Checkers

Inspyder's OrFind will  "crawl your site" and identify HTML pages and images that are no longer used.  The software can be configured to automatically delete those files, and it will  even email you a report if any files are modified. This can provide a webmaster  with peace of mind, knowing that if their webspace gets hacked, they'll be  alerted. There is a free trial available. Afterward, you need to pay for the  software to continue using it.

HTML Link Validator, released in 2007 by  Lithops Software, will check your website for any broken links, regardless of  the number of pages your site has. This software is another class of "web  spider" which sifts through your web pages and identifies orphan web site files.  The software is Shareware, but you need to register and pay to use the full  version.

FindOrphan is a simple application  created by SobolSoft that will search your local HTML, PHP and ASP files for any  unlinked files, including media files like images and video.

Linx Explorer from  NOVOSIB software will verify all links on your website to check for broken  links, and it will also detect any unlinked files in your web directory and  provide you with a report.

SiteCleaner is Mac  software created by Sideburn Studios that will take all of the files and code  for your web project and "clean it" of all orphaned html or media files. Removed  files are placed in a "removed content" folder.

Remove Unused CSS Code

Dust Me Selectors is a Firefox Add-on. It extracts all the selectors from all the stylesheets on the page you're viewing, then analyzes that page to see which of those selectors are not used. The data is stored so when testing subsequent pages, selectors can be crossed off the list as they're encountered.

You can test pages individually, or spider an entire site, and you'll end up with a profile of which selectors are not used anywhere.

March 2011 Tags: Web Design & Development Resources, missing links, orphaned files, unused CSS selectors