diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0eb0eb4..3ee32b6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,12 +28,6 @@ plugins:
     - htmlproofer
 ```
 
-To enable cross-page anchor validation, you must set `use_directory_urls = False` in `mkdocs.yml`:
-
-```yaml
-use_directory_urls: False
-```
-
 ## Configuring
 
 ### `enabled`
@@ -147,11 +141,11 @@ plugins:
 
 ## Compatibility with `attr_list` extension
 
-If you need to manually specify anchors make use of the `attr_list` [extension](https://python-markdown.github.io/extensions/attr_list) in the markdown. 
+If you need to manually specify anchors make use of the `attr_list` [extension](https://python-markdown.github.io/extensions/attr_list) in the markdown.
 This can be useful for multilingual documentation to keep anchors as language neutral permalinks in all languages.
 
 * A sample for a heading `# Grüße {#greetings}` (the slugified generated anchor `Gre` is overwritten with `greetings`).
-* This also works for images `this is a nice image [](foo-bar.png){#nice-image}` 
+* This also works for images `this is a nice image [](foo-bar.png){#nice-image}`
 * And generall for paragraphs:
 ```markdown
 Listing: This is noteworthy.
@@ -164,4 +158,4 @@ More information about plugins in the [MkDocs documentation](http://www.mkdocs.o
 
 ## Acknowledgement
 
-This work is based on the [mkdocs-markdownextradata-plugin](https://github.com/rosscdh/mkdocs-markdownextradata-plugin) project and the [Finding and Fixing Website Link Rot with Python, BeautifulSoup and Requests](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/blog/find-fix-website-link-rot-python-beautifulsoup-requests-html) article. 
+This work is based on the [mkdocs-markdownextradata-plugin](https://github.com/rosscdh/mkdocs-markdownextradata-plugin) project and the [Finding and Fixing Website Link Rot with Python, BeautifulSoup and Requests](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/blog/find-fix-website-link-rot-python-beautifulsoup-requests-html) article.
diff --git a/htmlproofer/plugin.py b/htmlproofer/plugin.py
index 77fbbd2..59d62fa 100644
--- a/htmlproofer/plugin.py
+++ b/htmlproofer/plugin.py
@@ -98,14 +98,13 @@ class HtmlProoferPlugin(BasePlugin):
         if not self.config['enabled']:
             return
 
-        use_directory_urls = config.data["use_directory_urls"]
-
         # Optimization: At this point, we have all the files, so we can create
         # a dictionary for faster lookups. Prior to this point, files are
         # still being updated so creating a dictionary before now would result
         # in incorrect values appearing as the key.
         opt_files = {}
         opt_files.update({os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in self.files})
+        opt_files.update({os.path.normpath(file.src_uri): file for file in self.files})
 
         # Optimization: only parse links and headings
         # li, sup are used for footnotes
@@ -123,7 +122,7 @@ class HtmlProoferPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 if self.config['warn_on_ignored_urls']:
                     log_warning(f"ignoring URL {url} from {page.file.src_path}")
             else:
-                url_status = self.get_url_status(url, page.file.src_path, all_element_ids, opt_files, use_directory_urls)
+                url_status = self.get_url_status(url, page.file.src_path, all_element_ids, opt_files)
                 if self.bad_url(url_status) and self.is_error(self.config, url, url_status):
                     self.report_invalid_url(url, url_status, page.file.src_path)
 
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@ class HtmlProoferPlugin(BasePlugin):
             url: str,
             src_path: str,
             all_element_ids: Set[str],
-            files: Dict[str, File],
-            use_directory_urls: bool
+            files: Dict[str, File]
     ) -> int:
         if any(pat.match(url) for pat in LOCAL_PATTERNS):
             return 0
@@ -174,18 +172,13 @@ class HtmlProoferPlugin(BasePlugin):
             return 0
         if fragment and not path:
             return 0 if url[1:] in all_element_ids else 404
-        elif not use_directory_urls:
-            # use_directory_urls = True injects too many challenges for locating the correct target
-            # Markdown file, so disable target anchor validation in this case. Examples include:
-            # ../..#BAD_ANCHOR style links to index.html and extra ../ inserted into relative
-            # links.
+        else:
             is_valid = self.is_url_target_valid(url, src_path, files)
             url_status = 404
             if not is_valid and self.is_error(self.config, url, url_status):
                 log_warning(f"Unable to locate source file for: {url}")
                 return url_status
             return 0
-        return 0
 
     @staticmethod
     def is_url_target_valid(url: str, src_path: str, files: Dict[str, File]) -> bool:
@@ -225,9 +218,14 @@ class HtmlProoferPlugin(BasePlugin):
             # Convert root/site paths
             search_path = os.path.normpath(url[1:])
         else:
-            # Handle relative links by concatenating the source dir with the destination path
-            src_dir = urllib.parse.quote(str(pathlib.Path(src_path).parent), safe='/\\')
-            search_path = os.path.normpath(str(pathlib.Path(src_dir) / pathlib.Path(url)))
+            # Handle relative links by looking up the destination url for the
+            # src_path and getting the parent directory.
+            try:
+                dest_uri = files[src_path].dest_uri
+                src_dir = urllib.parse.quote(str(pathlib.Path(dest_uri).parent), safe='/\\')
+                search_path = os.path.normpath(str(pathlib.Path(src_dir) / pathlib.Path(url)))
+            except KeyError:
+                return None
 
         try:
             return files[search_path]

diff --git a/tests/integration/docs/nested/page1.md b/tests/integration/docs/nested/page1.md
index 338df37..b29e14e 100644
--- a/tests/integration/docs/nested/page1.md
+++ b/tests/integration/docs/nested/page1.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ you can either link to a local file without or with an anchor.
 * [Main Page](../index.md)
 * [Sub-Page](./page2.md)
 * <figure markdown>
-  <a href="../assets/hello-world.drawio.svg">
+  <a href="/assets/hello-world.drawio.svg">
     ![Image](../assets/hello-world.drawio.svg)
   </a>
 </figure>
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ But allows valid anchors such as
 
 ## Image Link absolute/relative
 
-<a href="../assets/hello-world.drawio.svg">![test](../assets/hello-world.drawio.svg)</a>
+<a href="/assets/hello-world.drawio.svg">![test](../assets/hello-world.drawio.svg)</a>
 
 <a href="/assets/hello-world.drawio.svg">![test](/assets/hello-world.drawio.svg)</a>
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_plugin.py b/tests/unit/test_plugin.py
index a17f2a6..2645779 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_plugin.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_plugin.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def test_on_post_page__plugin_disabled():
     ),
 )
 def test_get_url_status__ignore_local_servers(plugin, empty_files, url):
-    assert plugin.get_url_status(url, 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files, False) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status(url, 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files) == 0
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ def test_get_url_status(validate_external: bool):
     plugin.load_config({'validate_external_urls': validate_external})
 
     def get_url():
-        return plugin.get_url_status('https://google.com', 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files, False)
+        return plugin.get_url_status('https://google.com', 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files)
 
     if validate_external:
         with pytest.raises(Exception):
@@ -172,9 +172,9 @@ def test_contains_anchor(plugin, markdown, anchor, expected):
 
 
 def test_get_url_status__same_page_anchor(plugin, empty_files):
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('#ref', 'src/path.md', {'ref'}, empty_files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('##ref', 'src/path.md', {'ref'}, empty_files, False) == 404
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('#ref', 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('#ref', 'src/path.md', {'ref'}, empty_files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('##ref', 'src/path.md', {'ref'}, empty_files) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('#ref', 'src/path.md', set(), empty_files) == 404
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ def test_get_url_status__external(plugin, empty_files, url):
 
     with patch.object(HtmlProoferPlugin, "get_external_url") as mock_get_ext_url:
         mock_get_ext_url.return_value = expected_status
-        status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), empty_files, False)
+        status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), empty_files)
 
     mock_get_ext_url.assert_called_once_with(url, scheme, src_path)
     assert status == expected_status
@@ -241,39 +241,64 @@ def test_get_url_status__local_page(plugin):
     index_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Heading\nContent')
     page1_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Page One\n## Sub Heading\nContent')
     special_char_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Heading éèà\n## Sub Heading éèà\nContent')
-    files = {os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in Files([
-        Mock(spec=File, src_path='index.md', dest_path='index.html', url='index.html', page=index_page),
-        Mock(spec=File, src_path='page1.md', dest_path='page1.html', url='page1.html', page=page1_page),
+    mock_files = Files([
+        Mock(spec=File, src_path='index.md', dest_path='index.html',
+             dest_uri='index.html', url='index.html', src_uri='index.md',
+             page=index_page),
+        Mock(spec=File, src_path='page1.md', dest_path='page1.html',
+             dest_uri='page1.html', url='page1.html', src_uri='page1.md',
+             page=page1_page),
         Mock(spec=File, src_path='Dir éèà/éèà.md', dest_path='Dir éèà/éèà.html',
-             url='Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html', page=special_char_page),
-    ])}
+             dest_uri='Dir éèà/éèà.html',
+             url='Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html',
+             src_uri='Dir éèà/éèà.md', page=special_char_page),
+        Mock(spec=File, src_path='Dir éèà/page1.md', dest_path='Dir éèà/page1.html',
+             dest_uri='Dir éèà/page1.html',
+             url='Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/page1.html',
+             src_uri='Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/page1.md',
+             page=special_char_page),
+    ])
+    files = {}
+    files.update({os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in mock_files})
+    files.update({file.src_uri: file for file in mock_files})
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html#bad-heading', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('index.html#bad-heading', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 404
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html#sub-heading', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html#sub-heading', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('page1.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 404
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('page2.html', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 404
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('page2.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('page2.html', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('page2.html#heading', 'page1.md', set(), files) == 404
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html#sub-heading-eea',
-                                 'page1.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html#sub-heading-eea', 'Dir éèà/page3.md', set(), files, False) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status(
+        'Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html#sub-heading-eea',
+        'page1.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status(
+        '%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0.html#sub-heading-eea',
+        'Dir%20%C3%A9%C3%A8%C3%A0/page1.md',
+        set(), files) == 0
 
 
 def test_get_url_status__non_markdown_page(plugin):
     index_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Heading\nContent')
-    files = {os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in Files([
-        Mock(spec=File, src_path='index.md', dest_path='index.html', url='index.html', page=index_page),
-        Mock(spec=File, src_path='drawing.svg', dest_path='drawing.svg', url='drawing.svg', page=None),
-    ])}
+    mock_files = Files([
+        Mock(spec=File, src_path='index.md', dest_path='index.html',
+             dest_uri='index.html', url='index.html', src_uri='index.md',
+             page=index_page),
+        Mock(spec=File, src_path='drawing.svg', dest_path='drawing.svg',
+             dest_uri='index.html', url='drawing.svg', src_uri='drawing.svg',
+             page=None),
+    ])
+    files = {}
+    files.update({os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in mock_files})
+    files.update({file.src_uri: file for file in mock_files})
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('drawing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('/drawing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('not-existing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('drawing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('/drawing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('not-existing.svg', 'index.md', set(), files) == 404
 
 
 def test_get_url_status__local_page_nested(plugin):
@@ -282,48 +307,67 @@ def test_get_url_status__local_page_nested(plugin):
     nested1_sibling_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Nested Sibling')
     nested2_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Nested\n## Nested Two\nContent')
     nested2_sibling_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='# Nested Sibling')
-    files = {os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in Files([
-        Mock(spec=File, src_path='index.md', dest_path='index.html', url='index.html', page=index_page),
+    mock_files = Files([
+        Mock(
+            spec=File,
+            src_path='index.md',
+            dest_path='index.html',
+            dest_uri='index.html',
+            url='index.html',
+            src_uri='index.md',
+            page=index_page),
         Mock(
             spec=File,
             src_path='foo/bar/nested.md',
             dest_path='foo/bar/nested.html',
+            dest_uri='foo/bar/nested.html',
             url='foo/bar/nested.html',
+            src_uri='foo/bar/nested.md',
             page=nested1_page
         ),
         Mock(
             spec=File,
             src_path='foo/bar/sibling.md',
             dest_path='foo/bar/sibling.html',
+            dest_uri='foo/bar/sibling.html',
             url='foo/bar/sibling.html',
+            src_uri='foo/bar/sibling.md',
             page=nested1_sibling_page
         ),
         Mock(
             spec=File,
             src_path='foo/baz/nested.md',
             dest_path='foo/baz/nested.html',
+            dest_uri='foo/baz/nested.html',
             url='foo/baz/nested.html',
+            src_uri='foo/baz/nested.md',
             page=nested2_page
         ),
         Mock(
             spec=File,
             src_path='foo/baz/sibling.md',
             dest_path='foo/baz/sibling.html',
+            dest_uri='foo/baz/sibling.html',
             url='foo/baz/sibling.html',
+            src_uri='foo/baz/sibling.md',
             page=nested2_sibling_page
         ),
-    ])}
+    ])
+
+    files = {}
+    files.update({os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in mock_files})
+    files.update({file.src_uri: file for file in mock_files})
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-one', 'foo/bar/sibling.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-two', 'foo/bar/sibling.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-one', 'foo/bar/sibling.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-two', 'foo/bar/sibling.md', set(), files) == 404
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-two', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-one', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files, False) == 404
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-two', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('nested.html#nested-one', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files) == 404
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('foo/bar/nested.html#nested-one', 'index.md', set(), files, False) == 0
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('foo/baz/nested.html#nested-two', 'index.md', set(), files, False) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('foo/bar/nested.html#nested-one', 'index.md', set(), files) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('foo/baz/nested.html#nested-two', 'index.md', set(), files) == 0
 
-    assert plugin.get_url_status('/index.html', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files, False) == 0
+    assert plugin.get_url_status('/index.html', 'foo/baz/sibling.md', set(), files) == 0
 
 
 @patch.object(htmlproofer.plugin, "log_warning", autospec=True)
@@ -334,7 +378,7 @@ def test_get_url_status__excluded_non_existing_relative_url__no_warning(log_warn
     files = {}
     plugin.config['raise_error_excludes'][url_status] = [url]
 
-    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files, False)
+    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files)
 
     log_warning_mock.assert_not_called()
     assert 0 == status
@@ -349,12 +393,12 @@ def test_get_url_status__excluded_existing_relative_url__no_warning(log_warning_
     existing_page = Mock(spec=Page, markdown='')
     files = {
         os.path.normpath(file.url): file for file in Files([
-            Mock(spec=File, src_path=src_path, dest_path=url, url=url, page=existing_page)
+            Mock(spec=File, src_path=src_path, dest_path=url, dest_uri=url, url=url, src_uri=src_path, page=existing_page)
         ])
     }
     plugin.config['raise_error_excludes'][url_status] = [url]
 
-    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files, False)
+    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files)
 
     log_warning_mock.assert_not_called()
     assert 0 == status
@@ -367,7 +411,7 @@ def test_get_url_status__non_existing_relative_url__warning_and_404(log_warning_
     src_path = "index.md"
     files = {}
 
-    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files, False)
+    status = plugin.get_url_status(url, src_path, set(), files)
 
     log_warning_mock.assert_called_once()
     assert expected_url_status == status

disabling the implicit use_directory_urls renders plugin useless for most
**Describe the bug**

As mkdocs default/implicit settings are `use_directory_urls = true` for good reasons, most people will use that, as it does produce nice, human-friendly URLs without useless html extension.

Still, this plugin fails to perform testing for these, which is likely >95% of mkdocs users. Exact numbers can easily be computed using a https://sourcegraph.com/ query that checks how many do disable these.

Is there any chance to make the plugin work for those using directory urls?
tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__ignore_local_servers[http://localhost/] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__ignore_local_servers[https://127.0.0.1/something] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__ignore_local_servers[http://app_server/#foo] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status[False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__same_page_anchor tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[https://extwebsite.com] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[http://extwebsite.com] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[https://website.net/path#anchor] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[mailto:toto@toto.com] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[steam://application] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__external[file://file] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__local_page tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__non_markdown_page tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__local_page_nested tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__excluded_non_existing_relative_url__no_warning tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__excluded_existing_relative_url__no_warning tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status__non_existing_relative_url__warning_and_404
tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_build[False-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_build[False-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_build[True-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_build[True-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[False-False-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[False-False-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[False-True-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[False-True-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[True-False-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[True-False-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[True-True-False] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page[True-True-True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_on_post_page__plugin_disabled tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_url_status[True] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_contains_anchor[git tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_contains_anchor[## tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_contains_anchor[see tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_contains_anchor[paragraph tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__web_scheme[http] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__web_scheme[https] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__unknown_scheme[mailto] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__unknown_scheme[file] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__unknown_scheme[steam] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_get_external_url__unknown_scheme[abc] tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_report_invalid_url__raise_error__highest_priority tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_report_invalid_url__raise_error__raises_and_no_log tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_report_invalid_url__raise_error_after_finish__log_error_is_called tests/unit/test_plugin.py::test_report_invalid_url__not_raise_error__only_log_warning_is_called