diff --git a/src/common/kiwix/reader.cpp b/src/common/kiwix/reader.cpp
index 8ae7aaef3..dd0b378d0 100644
--- a/src/common/kiwix/reader.cpp
+++ b/src/common/kiwix/reader.cpp
@@ -124,6 +124,10 @@ namespace kiwix {
     if (this->zimFileHandler->getFileheader().hasMainPage()) {
       zim::Article article = zimFileHandler->getArticle(this->zimFileHandler->getFileheader().getMainPage());
       url = article.getLongUrl();
+
+      if (url.empty()) {
+	url = getFirstPageUrl(); 
+      }
     }
     
     return url;