Missing JavaScript files

Silktide finds script files that your pages ask for but that fail to load, usually because the file was moved or deleted, or its web address was mistyped. Whatever the script powered - menus, forms, widgets - silently stops working.

<!-- This script no longer exists, so whatever it powered is broken -->
<script src="/js/checkout.js"></script>

Why this matters

powers the interactive parts of your pages. When a script file fails to load, those parts fail with it - and unlike a broken image, there is nothing visible to warn anyone. A visitor just finds a menu that won't open or a form that won't submit, and code in other scripts that depended on the missing file can fail too, spreading the breakage.

Even when the missing script was unused, every visitor's browser still wastes time requesting it and waiting for the failure, slowing the page down for nothing.

How to fix it

Find the reference to the missing file - Silktide highlights where each one is included.
If the file moved, update the reference to its new address. If the script belongs to a service you no longer use, remove the reference entirely - old tracking and widget scripts are the most common case.
If the file should exist, restore it or check why the server rejects the request.
Test the interactive features of the page afterward, with the browser console open to confirm no failed requests remain.

How Silktide tests this

Load each page in a real browser and record every file the page requests.
Keep the requests for script files.
Report each one that fails to download - an error response from the server, such as 404, or a connection failure. Momentary timeouts and requests the browser itself abandoned are not reported, to avoid false alarms.
Highlight where on the page each missing file is referenced.

Troubleshooting

The file loads when I try it

The file may be behind a login, blocked for automated visitors, or served inconsistently. Also check for mixed content: a script requested over plain HTTP from a page served over is blocked by the browser even though the file exists. If it is genuinely fine, the finding.

The page seems to work despite the missing file

The script may be redundant - references to retired tools often outlive the tools themselves. Removing the reference is still worthwhile: every visitor stops paying for a failed request, and the JavaScript errors check gets quieter too.