diff --git a/lib/html/proofer.rb b/lib/html/proofer.rb
index 2c101290..fcbd08ba 100644
--- a/lib/html/proofer.rb
+++ b/lib/html/proofer.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ def run
         Find.find(@srcDir) do |path|
           if File.extname(path) == @options[:ext]
             html = HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(path)
-            check = klass.new(path, html, @options)
+            check = klass.new(@srcDir, path, html, @options)
             check.run
             check.hydra.run
             self.print_issues(klass, check.issues)
diff --git a/lib/html/proofer/check.rb b/lib/html/proofer/check.rb
index dbc47f68..c92ffb15 100644
--- a/lib/html/proofer/check.rb
+++ b/lib/html/proofer/check.rb
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ class Check
 
     attr_reader :issues, :hydra
 
-    def initialize(path, html, opts={})
+    def initialize(src, path, html, opts={})
+      @src    = src
       @path   = path
       @html   = html
       @options = opts
@@ -91,5 +92,35 @@ def self.subclasses
 
       classes
     end
+
+    def resolve_path(path)
+
+      #Strip anchor, not needed to resolve file
+      path = path.split('#').first
+
+      if path =~ /^\// #path relative to root
+        base = @src
+      elsif File.exist? File.join Dir.pwd, @path #relative links, path is a file
+        base = File.dirname(@path)
+      else #relative link, path is a directory
+        base = @path
+      end
+
+      if path =~ /^#/ #anchor link, no trailing slash
+        path = "#{base}#{path}"
+      else # relative path, resolve trailing slashes automatically
+        path = File.join base, path
+      end
+
+      # implicit /index.html support, with support for tailing slashes
+      path = File.join path, "index.html" if File.directory? File.join Dir.pwd, path
+
+      path
+    end
+
+    # checks if a file exists relative to the current pwd
+    def file?(path)
+      File.exist? File.join Dir.pwd, resolve_path(path)
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/html/proofer/checks/images.rb b/lib/html/proofer/checks/images.rb
index be4ac68c..0e18ac4a 100644
--- a/lib/html/proofer/checks/images.rb
+++ b/lib/html/proofer/checks/images.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ def run
       # check image sources
       if src && src.length > 0
         if !external_href?(src)
-          self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internal image #{src} does not exist") unless src[0] != "/" and File.exist?(File.join(File.dirname(@path), src))
+          self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internal image #{src} does not exist") unless file? src
         else
           validate_url(src, "#{@path}".blue + ": external image #{src} does not exist")
         end
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def run
 
       # check alt tag
       self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": image #{src} does not have an alt attribute") unless img['alt'] and !img['alt'].empty?
-      
+
       screenShotRegExp = /Screen(?: |%20)Shot(?: |%20)\d+-\d+-\d+(?: |%20)at(?: |%20)\d+.\d+.\d+/
 
       if src =~ screenShotRegExp
diff --git a/lib/html/proofer/checks/links.rb b/lib/html/proofer/checks/links.rb
index 31da2fd1..b0b6772f 100644
--- a/lib/html/proofer/checks/links.rb
+++ b/lib/html/proofer/checks/links.rb
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ def run
           href_split = href.split('#')
         end
         if !external_href?(href)
+
           # an internal link, with a hash
           if href_split && !href_split.empty?
             href_file = href_split[0]
@@ -26,11 +27,10 @@ def run
 
             # it's not an internal hash; it's pointing to some other file
             if href_file.length > 0
-              href_location = resolve_path File.join(File.dirname(@path), href_file)
-              if !File.exist?(href_location)
-                self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internal link #{href_location} does not exist")
+              if !file?(href_file)
+                self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internal link #{href_file} does not exist")
               else
-                href_html = HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(href_location)
+                href_html = HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(resolve_path(href_file))
                 found_hash_match = false
                 unless hash_check(href_html, href_hash)
                   self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": linking to #{href}, but #{href_hash} does not exist")
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ def run
             end
           # internal link, no hash
           else
-            href_location = resolve_path File.join(File.dirname(@path), href)
-            self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internally linking to #{href_location}, which does not exist") unless File.exist?(href_location)
+            self.add_issue("#{@path}".blue + ": internally linking to #{href}, which does not exist") unless file?(href)
           end
         else
           validate_url(href, "#{@path}".blue + ": externally linking to #{href}, which does not exist")
@@ -60,9 +59,4 @@ def hash_check(html, href_hash)
     html.xpath("//*[@id='#{href_hash}']", "//*[@name='#{href_hash}']").length > 0
   end
 
-  #support for implicit /index.html in URLs
-  def resolve_path(path)
-    path << "index.html" if File.directory? path
-    path
-  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/folder/anchorLink.html b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/folder/anchorLink.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/index.html b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/index.html
index 0ce99707..8ec61e2d 100644
--- a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/index.html
+++ b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-root.
+<h1 id="anchor">root.</a>
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageDirPrefix.html b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageDirPrefix.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 45319f6e..00000000
--- a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageDirPrefix.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-<html>
-
-<body>
-
-	<p>Blah blah blah. <img alt="A broken image, due to dir prefix" src="/gpl.png" /> </p>
-
-</body>
-
-</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/relativeLinks.html b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/relativeLinks.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..08d061eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/relativeLinks.html
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<a href="/index.html">Relative to root</a>
+<a href="index.html">Relative to self</a>
+<a href="folder/">Folder relative to self</a>
+<a href="index.html#anchor">Anchor relative to self</a>
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/rootLink.html b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/rootLink.html
index d3c31558..f22c5732 100644
--- a/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/rootLink.html
+++ b/spec/html/proofer/fixtures/rootLink.html
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 <body>
 
   <p>Blah blah blah. <a href="/">I am root.</a></p>
+  <p>Blah blah blah. <a href="/folder">I am relative to root.</a></p>
 
 </body>
 
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/images_spec.rb b/spec/html/proofer/images_spec.rb
index d3faadfa..0bf12213 100644
--- a/spec/html/proofer/images_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/html/proofer/images_spec.rb
@@ -3,35 +3,28 @@
 describe "Image tests" do
   it "passes for existing external images" do
     externalImageFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/existingImageExternal.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(externalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(externalImageFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", externalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(externalImageFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end
 
   it "fails for image without alt attribute" do
     missingAltFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageAlt.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(missingAltFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingAltFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", missingAltFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingAltFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageAlt.html".blue + ": image ./gpl.png does not have an alt attribute")
   end
 
   it "fails for image with an empty alt attribute" do
     missingAltFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageAltText.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(missingAltFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingAltFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", missingAltFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingAltFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageAltText.html".blue + ": image ./gpl.png does not have an alt attribute")
   end
 
-  it "fails for image without a dir prefix" do
-    missingImageDirPrefixFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageDirPrefix.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(missingImageDirPrefixFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingImageDirPrefixFilepath))
-    @imageCheck.run
-    @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageDirPrefix.html".blue + ": internal image /gpl.png does not exist")
-  end
-
   it "fails for missing external images" do
     externalImageFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageExternal.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(externalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(externalImageFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", externalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(externalImageFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.hydra.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].sub!(/ #<Typhoeus::Response:[\w]+>/, "")
@@ -40,21 +33,21 @@
 
   it "fails for missing internal images" do
     internalImageFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageInternal.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(internalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(internalImageFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", internalImageFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(internalImageFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageInternal.html".blue + ": internal image ./doesnotexist.png does not exist")
   end
 
   it "fails for image with no src" do
     imageSrcFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingImageSrc.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(imageSrcFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(imageSrcFilepath))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", imageSrcFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(imageSrcFilepath))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingImageSrc.html".blue + ": image has no src attribute")
   end
 
   it "fails for image with default mac filename" do
     terribleImageName = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/terribleImageName.html"
-    @imageCheck = Images.new(terribleImageName, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(terribleImageName))
+    @imageCheck = Images.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", terribleImageName, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(terribleImageName))
     @imageCheck.run
     @imageCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/terribleImageName.html".blue + ": image has a terrible filename (./Screen Shot 2012-08-09 at 7.51.18 AM.png)")
   end
diff --git a/spec/html/proofer/links_spec.rb b/spec/html/proofer/links_spec.rb
index 5cf5195a..7331521f 100644
--- a/spec/html/proofer/links_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/html/proofer/links_spec.rb
@@ -4,21 +4,21 @@
 
   it "fails for broken external hash (even if the file exists)" do
     brokenHashExternalFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/brokenHashExternal.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(brokenHashExternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenHashExternalFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", brokenHashExternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenHashExternalFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[1].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/brokenHashExternal.html".blue + ": linking to ./missingImageAlt.html#asdfasfdkafl, but asdfasfdkafl does not exist")
   end
 
   it "fails for broken internal hash" do
     brokenHashInternalFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/brokenHashInternal.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(brokenHashInternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenHashInternalFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", brokenHashInternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenHashInternalFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/brokenHashInternal.html".blue + ": linking to an internal hash called noHash that does not exist")
   end
 
   it "fails for broken external links" do
     brokenLinkExternalFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/brokenLinkExternal.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(brokenLinkExternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkExternalFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", brokenLinkExternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkExternalFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.hydra.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].sub!(/ #<Typhoeus::Response:[\w]+>/, "")
@@ -27,49 +27,56 @@
 
   it "fails for broken internal links" do
     brokenLinkInternalFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/brokenLinkInternal.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(brokenLinkInternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkInternalFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", brokenLinkInternalFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkInternalFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
-    @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/brokenLinkInternal.html".blue + ": internally linking to spec/html/proofer/fixtures/./notreal.html, which does not exist")
+    @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/brokenLinkInternal.html".blue + ": internally linking to ./notreal.html, which does not exist")
   end
 
   it "fails for link with no href" do
     missingLinkHrefFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/missingLinkHref.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(missingLinkHrefFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingLinkHrefFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", missingLinkHrefFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(missingLinkHrefFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq("spec/html/proofer/fixtures/missingLinkHref.html".blue + ": link has no href attribute")
   end
 
   it "should follow redirects" do
     linkWithRedirectFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/linkWithRedirect.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(linkWithRedirectFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkWithRedirectFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", linkWithRedirectFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkWithRedirectFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end
 
   it "should understand https" do
     linkWithHttpsFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/linkWithHttps.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(linkWithHttpsFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkWithHttpsFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", linkWithHttpsFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkWithHttpsFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end
 
   it "fails for broken hash links with status code numbers" do
     brokenLinkWithNumberFilepath = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/brokenLinkWithNumber.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(brokenLinkWithNumberFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkWithNumberFilepath))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", brokenLinkWithNumberFilepath, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(brokenLinkWithNumberFilepath))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end
 
   it 'properly resolves implicit /index.html in link paths' do
     linkToFolder = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/linkToFolder.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(linkToFolder, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkToFolder))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", linkToFolder, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(linkToFolder))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end
 
   it 'properly checks links to root' do
     rootLink = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/rootLink.html"
-    @linkCheck = Links.new(rootLink, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(rootLink))
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", rootLink, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(rootLink))
+    @linkCheck.run
+    @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
+  end
+
+  it 'properly checks relative links' do
+    relativeLinks = "#{FIXTURES_DIR}/relativeLinks.html"
+    @linkCheck = Links.new("#{FIXTURES_DIR}", relativeLinks, HTML::Proofer.create_nokogiri(relativeLinks))
     @linkCheck.run
     @linkCheck.issues[0].should eq(nil)
   end