diff --git a/exampleSite/content/authoring/frontmatter/linking/index.en.md b/exampleSite/content/authoring/frontmatter/linking/index.en.md
index f9cb4a5b33..4aaef08cd2 100644
--- a/exampleSite/content/authoring/frontmatter/linking/index.en.md
+++ b/exampleSite/content/authoring/frontmatter/linking/index.en.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ externalLinkTarget = '_self'
 
 ## Enabling Link and Image Link Warnings
 
-{{% badge style="cyan" icon="gears" title=" " %}}Option{{% /badge %}} {{% badge style="green" icon="fa-fw fab fa-markdown" title=" " %}}Front Matter{{% /badge %}} You can use `link.errorlevel` and `image.errorlevel` to control what should happen if a local link can not be resolved to a resource.
+{{% badge style="cyan" icon="gears" title=" " %}}Option{{% /badge %}} {{% badge style="green" icon="fa-fw fab fa-markdown" title=" " %}}Front Matter{{% /badge %}} You can use `link.errorlevel` and `image.errorlevel` to control what should happen if a local link can not be resolved to a page and/or a resource.
 
 If not set or empty, any unresolved link is written as given into the resulting output. If set to `warning` the same happens and an additional warning is printed in the built console. If set to `error` an error message is printed and the build is aborted.
 
diff --git a/exampleSite/content/introduction/releasenotes/7/4.en.md b/exampleSite/content/introduction/releasenotes/7/4.en.md
index d4087be543..69a4a16a81 100644
--- a/exampleSite/content/introduction/releasenotes/7/4.en.md
+++ b/exampleSite/content/introduction/releasenotes/7/4.en.md
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@ weight = -4
 
 ### New
 
-- {{% badge style="info" icon="plus-circle" title=" " %}}New{{% /badge %}} Table headers are sticky now.
+- {{% badge style="info" icon="plus-circle" title=" " %}}New{{% /badge %}} If `link.errorlevel` is configured, now also the `pageRef` of a [Hugo menu item](https://gohugo.io/content-management/menus/) and the `menuPageRef` in a page's front matter will be checked for existence.
 
 - {{% badge style="info" icon="plus-circle" title=" " %}}New{{% /badge %}} The theme supports the new [`source` output format](configuration/sitemanagement/outputformats/#source-support) which behaves similar in configuration as the `markdown` output format but allows the original Markdown source including the front matter of a page to be viewed.
 
   You can see this in action on the above linked page, accessible by clicking the topbar button.
+
+- {{% badge style="info" icon="plus-circle" title=" " %}}New{{% /badge %}} Table headers are sticky now.
diff --git a/layouts/partials/_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl b/layouts/partials/_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/layouts/partials/menu.html b/layouts/partials/menu.html
index 6a40722c71..97830d7d6c 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/menu.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/menu.html
@@ -163,20 +163,34 @@
     {{- $url := partial "permalink.gotmpl" (dict "to" .) }}
     {{- $isCrosslink := false }}
     {{- $target := "" }}
+    {{- $errorlevel := or $currentNode.Params.link.errorlevel $currentNode.Site.Params.link.errorlevel }}
     {{- if .Params.menuPageRef }}
       {{- with site.Home.GetPage (.Params.menuPageRef) }}
         {{- $url = partial "permalink.gotmpl" (dict "to" .) }}
         {{- $isCrosslink = true }}
+      {{- else }}
+        {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+          {{- warnf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page but linked anyways" $currentNode.File.Filename .Params.menuPageRef }}
+        {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+          {{- errorf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page" $currentNode.File.Filename .Params.menuPageRef }}
+        {{- end }}
       {{- end }}
     {{- else if .Params.menuUrl }}
       {{- $url = .Params.menuUrl }}
       {{- $isCrosslink = true }}
       {{- $u := urls.Parse $url }}
       {{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+        {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" $url "page" $currentNode "type" "menu link") $u.String }}
         {{- $target = "_blank" }}
         {{- if isset site.Params "externallinktarget" }}
           {{- $target = site.Params.externalLinkTarget }}
         {{- end }}
+      {{- else }}
+        {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+          {{- warnf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'menuURL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'menuPageRef' instead; link created anyways" $currentNode.File.Filename .Params.menuUrl }}
+        {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+          {{- errorf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'menuURL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'menuPageRef' instead" $currentNode.File.Filename .Params.menuUrl }}
+        {{- end }}
       {{- end }}
     {{- end }}
     {{- $pre := partial "menu-pre.html" . }}
@@ -225,7 +239,7 @@
     {{- $entries := . }}
     {{- if eq (len $entries) 1 }}
       {{- with index $entries 0 }}
-        {{- if not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" .) }}
+        {{- if not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" (dict "page" $currentNode "menu" .)) }}
           {{- /* because in Hugo menus can not have parameter but menu entries can,
             we can flag a single top level menu entry as a container; this container
             entry carrys just meta information and parameter, uses its children
@@ -264,7 +278,7 @@
       {{- $isSubCollapsible := .Params.collapsibleMenu | default $root.Params.collapsibleMenu | default site.Params.collapsibleMenu }}
       {{- if or $isSubSelf $isSubAncestor }}
         {{- partial "partials/inline/menu-walker" (dict "menu" . "currentnode" $currentNode "showvisitedlinks" $showvisitedlinks "alwaysopen" $defaultAlwaysopen "isSelf" $isSubSelf "isAncestor" $isSubAncestor "isHidden" $isSubHidden "root" $root) }}
-      {{- else if and (not $isSubHidden) (or $isSubCollapsible (not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" $entry)) (and $entry (eq $entry.Page $currentNode)) (and $entry ($currentNode.HasMenuCurrent $entry.Menu $entry))) }}
+      {{- else if and (not $isSubHidden) (or $isSubCollapsible (not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" (dict "page" $currentNode "menu" $entry))) (and $entry (eq $entry.Page $currentNode)) (and $entry ($currentNode.HasMenuCurrent $entry.Menu $entry))) }}
         {{- $id := md5 (print .) }}
         {{- partialCached "partials/inline/menu-walker" (dict "menu" . "currentnode" $currentNode "showvisitedlinks" $showvisitedlinks "alwaysopen" $defaultAlwaysopen "isSelf" $isSubSelf "isAncestor" $isSubAncestor "isHidden" $isSubHidden "root" $root) $id }}
       {{- end }}
@@ -300,7 +314,7 @@
       {{- end }}
     {{- end }}
     {{- $title := partial "menutitle.gotmpl" . }}
-    {{- $url := partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" . }}
+    {{- $url := partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" (dict "page" $currentNode "menu" .) }}
     {{- $target := "" }}
     {{- $u := urls.Parse $url }}
     {{- if $u.IsAbs }}
@@ -336,7 +350,7 @@
         {{- $isSubCollapsible := .Params.collapsibleMenu | default $root.Params.collapsibleMenu | default site.Params.collapsibleMenu }}
         {{- if or $isSubSelf $isSubAncestor }}
           {{- partial "partials/inline/menu-walker" (dict "menu" . "currentnode" $currentNode "showvisitedlinks" $showvisitedlinks "alwaysopen" $defaultAlwaysopen "isSelf" $isSubSelf "isAncestor" $isSubAncestor "isHidden" $isSubHidden "root" $root) }}
-        {{- else if and (not $isSubHidden) (or $isSubCollapsible (not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" $entry)) (eq $entry.Page $currentNode) ($currentNode.HasMenuCurrent $entry.Menu $entry)) }}
+        {{- else if and (not $isSubHidden) (or $isSubCollapsible (not (partial "menupermalink.gotmpl" (dict "page" $currentNode "menu" $entry))) (eq $entry.Page $currentNode) ($currentNode.HasMenuCurrent $entry.Menu $entry)) }}
           {{- $id := md5 (print .) }}
           {{- partialCached "partials/inline/menu-walker" (dict "menu" . "currentnode" $currentNode "showvisitedlinks" $showvisitedlinks "alwaysopen" $defaultAlwaysopen "isSelf" $isSubSelf "isAncestor" $isSubAncestor "isHidden" $isSubHidden "root" $root) $id }}
         {{- end }}
diff --git a/layouts/partials/menupermalink.gotmpl b/layouts/partials/menupermalink.gotmpl
index 6f9414b12f..cdebec5903 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/menupermalink.gotmpl
+++ b/layouts/partials/menupermalink.gotmpl
@@ -1,10 +1,30 @@
 {{- $url := "" }}
-{{- with . }}
-  {{- with .URL }}
-    {{- $url = . | relLangURL }}
-  {{- end }}
-  {{- with .Page }}
-    {{- $url = partial "permalink.gotmpl" (dict "to" .) }}
+{{- with .menu }}
+  {{- $errorlevel := or $.page.Params.link.errorlevel $.page.Site.Params.link.errorlevel }}
+  {{- if .PageRef }}
+    {{- with .Page }}
+      {{- $url = partial "permalink.gotmpl" (dict "to" .) }}
+    {{- else }}
+      {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+        {{- warnf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page but linked anyways" $.page.File.Filename .PageRef }}
+      {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+        {{- errorf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page" $.page.File.Filename .PageRef }}
+      {{- end }}
+    {{- end }}
+  {{- else }}
+    {{- with .URL }}
+      {{- $url = . | relLangURL }}
+      {{- $u := urls.Parse $url }}
+      {{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+        {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" $url "page" $.page "type" "menu link") $u.String }}
+      {{- else }}
+        {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+          {{- warnf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'URL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'pageRef' instead; link created anyways" $.page.File.Filename . }}
+        {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+          {{- errorf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'URL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'pageRef' instead" $.page.File.Filename . }}
+        {{- end }}
+      {{- end }}
+    {{- end }}
   {{- end }}
 {{- end }}
 {{- return $url }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/layouts/partials/meta.html b/layouts/partials/meta.html
index 1555c19193..d8325b9419 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/meta.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/meta.html
@@ -15,14 +15,29 @@
     <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow, noarchive, noimageindex">
     {{- end }}
     {{- $url := "" }}
+    {{- $errorlevel := or .Params.link.errorlevel .Site.Params.link.errorlevel }}
     {{- if .Params.menuPageRef }}
         {{- with site.Home.GetPage (.Params.menuPageRef) }}
             {{- $url = partial "permalink.gotmpl" (dict "to" .) }}
         {{- else }}
-            {{- warnf "%q: WARNING: page '%s' not found for 'menuPageRef' parameter" .File.Filename .Params.menuPageRef }}
+            {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+                {{- warnf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page but linked anyways" .File.Filename .Params.menuPageRef }}
+            {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+                {{- errorf "%q: menu link '%s' is not a page" .File.Filename .Params.menuPageRef }}
+            {{- end }}
         {{- end }}
     {{- else if .Params.menuUrl }}
         {{- $url = .Params.menuUrl }}
+        {{- $u := urls.Parse $url }}
+        {{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+            {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" $url "page" . "type" "menu link") $u.String }}
+        {{- else }}
+            {{- if eq $errorlevel "warning" }}
+                {{- warnf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'menuURL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'menuPageRef' instead; link created anyways" .File.Filename .Params.menuUrl }}
+            {{- else if eq $errorlevel "error" }}
+                {{- errorf "%q: local menu link '%s' was given by 'menuURL'; if it points to a page inside your Hugo site use 'menuPageRef' instead" .File.Filename .Params.menuUrl }}
+            {{- end }}
+        {{- end }}
     {{- end }}
     {{- if $url }}
     <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url={{ $url }}">
diff --git a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/image.html b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/image.html
index 8b1c614d85..a1644c629d 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/image.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/image.html
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@
 {{- $attributes := .attributes | default dict }}
 {{- $u := urls.Parse .url }}
 {{- $src := $u.String }}
-{{- if not $u.IsAbs }}
+{{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+  {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" .url "page" $page "type" "image") $u.String }}
+{{- else }}
   {{- $path := strings.TrimPrefix "./" $u.Path }}
   {{- with or
     ($page.Resources.Get $path)
diff --git a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/link.html b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/link.html
index d6f429ed61..24c2074de1 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/link.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/link.html
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 {{- $u := urls.Parse .url -}}
 {{- $href := $u.String }}
 {{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+  {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" .url "page" $page "type" "link") $u.String }}
   {{- $attributes = merge $attributes (dict "rel" "external") }}
   {{- $target = "_blank" }}
   {{- if isset $page.Site.Params "externallinktarget" }}
diff --git a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/openapi.html b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/openapi.html
index 7a91cb9d6d..662a51c16a 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/shortcodes/openapi.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/shortcodes/openapi.html
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 {{- $src := $u.String }}
 {{- $spec := "" }}
 {{- $id := cond (or (eq .id nil) (eq .id "")) (partial "_relearn/makeRandomMd5.gotmpl" $page) .id }}
-{{- if not $u.IsAbs }}
+{{- if $u.IsAbs }}
+  {{- partialCached "_relearn/urlExists.gotmpl" (dict "url" .src "page" $page "type" "OpenAPI spec link") $u.String }}
+{{- else }}
   {{- $path := strings.TrimPrefix "./" $u.Path }}
   {{- with or
     ($page.Resources.Get $path)
diff --git a/layouts/partials/version.txt b/layouts/partials/version.txt
index 948e64a716..c6f084e0f1 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/version.txt
+++ b/layouts/partials/version.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-7.3.2+44f7ff47eebd1a552b906059400888958f2709ae
\ No newline at end of file
+7.3.2+ba7e3b9b27ff1459815a786b6c6adb5686723b58
\ No newline at end of file