- Free tools
- Hreflang Validator
FREE HREFLANG CHECKER
Hreflang Validator: check hreflang tags before Google ignores them
Check hreflang tags online in page HTML or an XML sitemap. Every value is checked against ISO 639-1 language and ISO 3166-1 region codes, and every set is checked for x-default, self-references, return links and duplicate codes. No signup, and it runs entirely in your browser.
- HTML or XML sitemap
- No signup required
- Runs in your browser
WHAT WE CHECK
Check hreflang tags
Runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded.
Paste markup and click Validate hreflang.
HOW IT WORKS
How to check hreflang tags in three steps
The hreflang checker reads every alternate link in your markup, validates each code and URL, then compares the pages against each other to find broken clusters.
Paste HTML or a sitemap
Copy the head of a localized page, or paste the XML sitemap that holds your xhtml:link alternates.
Validate every tag
Each hreflang value is checked against ISO 639-1 and ISO 3166-1, and each href is checked for an absolute, canonical URL.
Fix the cluster
Errors and warnings are listed per tag, with the exact fix, such as en-GB instead of en-UK or a missing return link.
WHAT THE VALIDATOR CHECKS
The hreflang errors Google ignores silently
Search engines drop invalid hreflang annotations without a warning. One wrong region code or a missing return link can break the whole cluster, so the wrong language version ranks in the wrong country.
Language and region codes
Languages must be ISO 639-1, regions ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2. Catches en-UK, jp, underscores and region-only values.
Hreflang sitemap validator
Paste an XML sitemap and every xhtml:link alternate is checked for a matching return link, so one-way annotations surface across the whole site.
Self-referencing tags
Each page must list its own URL in its hreflang set. Missing self-references are flagged per page.
x-default
Warns when no x-default entry tells search engines which page to show users who match no listed locale.
Conflicting codes
The same hreflang pointing to two different URLs makes the whole annotation ambiguous.
Absolute URLs
Relative hrefs are flagged as errors and http URLs as warnings, since alternates must match canonical, fully qualified URLs.
FAQ
How to check hreflang tags
How do I check hreflang tags?
Paste the page HTML or your XML sitemap into the hreflang checker and click Validate hreflang. Each tag is checked for a valid ISO 639-1 language code, a valid ISO 3166-1 region code, an absolute URL, a self-reference, a return link and an x-default fallback.
How do I check if hreflang is implemented properly?
Hreflang is implemented properly when every page in a language cluster lists itself and every other version, each code is valid, every URL is absolute and canonical, and the same code never points to two URLs. Run each localized page or the full sitemap through the validator to confirm all of these.
Can I validate hreflang in an XML sitemap?
Yes. Switch to Sitemap XML and paste the file. The hreflang sitemap validator reads every url entry and its xhtml:link alternates, then checks that each alternate links back to the page that references it.
Is en-UK a valid hreflang code?
No. The ISO 3166-1 code for the United Kingdom is GB, so the correct value is en-GB. Google ignores en-UK.
Do I need an x-default tag?
It is recommended. x-default names the fallback page for users whose language or region matches none of your alternates, such as a language selector or a global homepage.
Should I put hreflang in HTML or in the sitemap?
Either works, but use one method consistently. Sitemaps are easier to maintain on large sites because the annotations live in one file instead of every page head.
Is my markup sent anywhere?
No. This hreflang checker runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored.
Find hreflang errors across your whole site
The validator checks one page or sitemap at a time. The desktop app crawls up to 100 URLs free and flags hreflang issues on every page.
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