Descriptive links are an important tool that allows all readers to quickly move through a document to find the information they need to view or download documents, access applications, or go to other related pages or websites for additional information.
For individuals with cognitive disabilities, individuals who are blind or have low vision, a descriptive link saves valuable time and improves the user experience. Although descriptive links are most commonly found on web pages, the recommendations should be applied to all digital communications including emails, documents, blogs, and social media.
Best practices
- Place important keywords at the beginning of the descriptive link.
- Avoid generic or ambiguous text, such as ‘visit this page’ or ‘click here’.
- Do not add the word “link” to your descriptive text.
Styling links
Most people assume that underlined text represents a link. This continues to be the best way to style your links to make a clear distinction between links and regular text. Note that for this reason, text should never be underlined for emphasis or stylistic reasons. Use bold or italic text instead.
Page content links on the brocku.ca website are automatically underlined and shown in red.
Color contrast
Colour contrast also plays a role in distinguishing links from surrounding text, particularly if they are not underlined. Before publishing your communications, check your link colour contrast using the WebAIM Link Colour Contrast Checker.
Examples of Descriptive Links
Use a unique, descriptive link for each link.
If “click here” is used throughout the document, a screen reader will read each “click here”. Not only is it annoying to hear the text repeated, but the user has no indication of what the file name is and if they are blind, they have no idea where “here” is.
Differentiate descriptive links by including the format the information will be provided in. Users will be able to select the information in their preferred format easily.
Example:
If the descriptive link is for a large document or media file for download, include the file type and size in the descriptive link. This is particularly important for people using mobile devices where the file size, storage or data plan might be limited.
Example:
- DON’T: Click here to download our terms and conditions
- DO: change to… Download our terms and conditions (PDF, 4.2MB)
When referring to someone online, their name should be linked to their email address.
Example:
- DON’T: Email Sir Isaac Brock – ibrock@brocku.ca
- DO: Change to… Contact Isaac Brock
Use the title of the article to create a descriptive link, particularly if the information will be updated annually. It will make the link and file easier to locate and replace when a new edition is released.
Example:
For more information about Accessibility at Brock University, the following accessibility policies and plans are available to the public.