Text links (and surrounding context if needed) or graphical links with embedded text (included in the alt text) should be written in active voice, usually with a call-to-action.
Most of your links will be simple, like links to a page or document. Your link text should:
Screen readers let people scan a webpage without reading everything. Make sure your link text is clear and makes sense for this purpose:
| Bad Link Text | Why is it Ineffective? |
|---|---|
| Link | It provides no information whatsoever of what the link is about or where it will take you. |
| Here | It provides no information whatsoever of what the link is about or where it will take you. |
| Read More | You have an idea that the link will go to more information about something, but you don't know what that something is. |
| Learn More | You have an idea that the link will go to more information about something, but you don't know what that something is. |
| Go Here | You know it is a link to something, but you don't know what that something is. |
| Click Here | You know it's a link, but you don't know what it's for. You might also be unsure how to use the link if you can't click it with a mouse. There are many ways to interact with it, like swiping, blowing, hitting, winking, or touching, but explaining all of them would be tedious. |
| This | You know it is a link to something, but you don't know what that something is. |
| For More Info | You have an idea that the link will go to more information about something, but you don't know what that something is. |
Good Examples:
When we add links to a webpage, we don't need to show the web address. That's only necessary for print materials and publications.
On the web and other electronic documents, link text that looks like a web address can be confusing and annoying.
To fix this, you can either:
This makes it clear where the link goes and improves usability, so users don't have to navigate or type the address themselves.
| Bad Link Text | Why is it Ineffective? |
|---|---|
| http://bit.ly/83de85rfe4 | It doesn't tell you what the link is about or where it will take you. It's just a random string of letters and numbers. |
| http://it.tamucc.edu/accessibility/guidelines/web-address-text.html | You might know where this link goes, but reading it character by character and word by word is tedious. |
People with cognitive or visual disabilities need links on a website to work and look the same way every time. If links behave or look different, it can cause confusion. This addresses the principle of least astonishment.
Who controls the behavior of the link? Users expect to control how links open in their browser. They know how their device works and have their own habits. If a link opens in a new tab, it can remove navigation options. So, don't force links to open in new windows or tabs. Let users decide how they want to open links.
Does the user know what type of content is on the link? Confusion and usability issues increase when documents (like PDFs or Word files) are in the main content or navigation. Special links, like email addresses and phone numbers, are exceptions.
Documents are generally less accessible than webpages and need more effort to be compliant. Use documents only when necessary. If the content can be displayed on a webpage, do that instead (see Nielsen Norman Group's web usability article Can Hated Design Elements Be Made to Work?). If users don't have the right software to open a document, they can't access the information.
In website navigation, users expect to move from one webpage to another within the site, not to a document. If a link leads to a document, it can cause these issues:
Special types of links must be written a certain way to display or function correctly:
When email addresses are used correctly, users can send emails directly from their email clients, especially on mobile devices.
To create the link, start the email address with "mailto:" followed by the email address. There should be no spaces before, between, or after the "mailto:" and the email address. Spaces will add "%20" to the address, making it unsendable.
Example: mailto:someone@tamucc.edu
The link text (what users click on) can be the recipient's name/title or the email address itself, but it's better to use their name/title.
Example result: Email Someone Cool
When phone numbers are used correctly, people can call directly from your webpage using their mobile phones or phone apps like Teams or Zoom.
To create the link, start the phone number with "tel:" followed by the country code (e.g., "+1" for the US), then the area code and number without spaces, hyphens, or parentheses.
Example: tel:+13618253154
Example result: Call 361-825-3154 for further assistance
Hyperlinks are defined in HTML using the a anchor tag: <a href="[link-location.html]">[Unique Link Text]</a>
If you are using a special type of link, then replace the [link-location.html] with the appropriate information.
As mentioned in the basic link standards, replace [Unique Link Text] with the appropriate unique link text that tells your audience where they will be going.
View PDF Accessibility: Navigation Links video from the Microsoft Enable PDF Accessibility Training YouTube Playlist.
The video quickly mentions the tagging structure check that you may need to do depending on the complexity of the PDF document. Documents with a lot of design elements may be harder to add links to automatically, even if they were converted to PDF documents from another application.
Elements of a link:
<Link>: The Link tag surrounds the entire area defined as the link.Link - OBJR: This is a special tag specifically understood by screen readers and other assistive technology, indicating there is a link and what functionality the link has.The tag structure should look something like this once elements are moved around properly:
Areas that allow you to use the rich text or WYSIWYG editor have Insert/edit link and Remove link buttons in the menu.
Cascade CMS allows you to link to content (e.g. pages, files) within Cascade, using the Internal option. This is what makes a content management system really manage the content. If you link to content internally in Cascade, and
Preventing broken links reduces accessibility issues for everyone. You are encouraged to link to content within Cascade using the Internal option, even if the content is in a different Site than yours.
If content is outside Cascade CMS, then use the External option and follow the instructions before this How-to section.
However, if that content just needs to be uploaded into Cascade, use the Internal option, change the Link Source ("Choose File, Page, or Link"), and select Upload. Selecting the placement folder before uploading the file improves the chance that you will place the file in the proper location before submitting and creating the link.