diff --git a/IkiWiki.pm b/IkiWiki.pm
index 6e03121c0..4368870b8 100644
--- a/IkiWiki.pm
+++ b/IkiWiki.pm
@@ -539,12 +539,7 @@ sub beautify_url ($) { #{{{
 	if ($config{usedirs}) {
 		$url =~ s!/index.$config{htmlext}$!/!;
 	}
-
-	# Ensure url is not an empty link, and
-	# if it's relative, make that explicit to avoid colon confusion.
-	if ($url !~ /\//) {
-		$url="./$url";
-	}
+	$url =~ s!^$!./!; # Browsers don't like empty links...
 
 	return $url;
 } #}}}