E-mail List Archives

You are here: Home > Community > E-mail List Archives > View Thread

Thread: Link text best practice

Number of posts in this thread: 12 (In chronological order)

From: Gareth Dart
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 9:03AM
Subject: Link text best practice
No previous message | Next message →

Hi guys,

I've been on and on at my content authors for the past three years to
stop using 'click here' or an URL as text for hyperlinks and instead to
use a short phrase which is a description of the content being linked
to, the rationale being that this is the friendliest approach to screen
readers.

Some of them have told me that they've read (no references given)
'somewhere online' that URLs should always be used for link text. I
haven't been able to find this anywhere, but wanted to check here too.

So, for the avoidance of doubt, what is best practice for link text?

Many thanks,

G

Gareth Dart
Web Developer
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
95 Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1HZ
T 01242 211128 F 01242 211122 W www.hesa.ac.uk
<http://www.hesa.ac.uk/>;

From: John E Brandt
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 9:36AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

I have never heard "...that URLs should always be used for link text..." -
in fact I have heard, and preached, the opposite. The only exception might
be in a digital document that will be printed out and distributed in paper
form. But that should probably be a separate document and not an HTML/XHTML
page.

You might want to point your colleagues to WebAIM for a nice
summary/discussion:
http://webaim.org/techniques/hypertext/

Oh, so another example of where the actual URL is used (as opposed to a
semantically correct text description of the link) would be in e-mails like
this that are using text formatting as opposed to HTML.

~j

John E. Brandt
www.jebswebs.com
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

From: Jon Brundage
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 9:42AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Gareth,

You are correct. One of the things most sited by users of screen readers is
the annoyance of going into "links mode" and receiving a list of links
"click here" "click here" etc- Click here to go where? Providing a link
such as "Fender Electric Guitars" will convey a sense of the destination. As
far as using the actual URL, they can be as confusing as "click here" For
example, a URL such as http://154.54.54.33 does not convey much information
about the target.

Using a description of the link destination or action is a good
accessibility practice.

Jon

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gareth Dart" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 11:01 AM
Subject: [WebAIM] Link text best practice

> Hi guys,
>
> I've been on and on at my content authors for the past three years to
> stop using 'click here' or an URL as text for hyperlinks and instead to
> use a short phrase which is a description of the content being linked
> to, the rationale being that this is the friendliest approach to screen
> readers.
>
> Some of them have told me that they've read (no references given)
> 'somewhere online' that URLs should always be used for link text. I
> haven't been able to find this anywhere, but wanted to check here too.
>
> So, for the avoidance of doubt, what is best practice for link text?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> G
>
> Gareth Dart
> Web Developer
> Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
> 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1HZ
> T 01242 211128 F 01242 211122 W www.hesa.ac.uk
> <http://www.hesa.ac.uk/>;
>
>
>

From: Langum, Michael J
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 9:48AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Our CSS guru came up with a way to use a media=print CSS to reveal rule to reveal URLs in print copies, but not in screen versions (if the URL was not present in the actual text.

-- Mike

From: Jon Brundage
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 9:54AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Good point Carol!
----- Original Message -----
From: Carol Wheeler
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 11:46 AM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Link text best practice

Meaningful links also help with SEO and Google page rank, arguments folks who don't care about accessibility will consider. So no "click here to" but "read about phytochemicals" works for everybody. Well, everybody who cares about phytochemicals.

On 1/4/2011 11:37 AM, Jon Brundage wrote:
Using a description of the link destination or action is a good accessibility practice.

Jon

--

Carol E. Wheeler
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Web Department
American Institute for Cancer Research
1759 R Street NW
Washington DC 20009
Tel: 202-328-7744
Fax: 202-328-7226
http://www.aicr.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Carol Wheeler
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 10:00AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
Meaningful links also help with SEO and Google page rank, arguments
folks who don't care about accessibility will consider. So no "click
here to" but "read about phytochemicals" works for everybody. Well,
everybody who cares about phytochemicals. 
 
On 1/4/2011 11:37 AM, Jon Brundage wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:003801cbac2d$bccf5040$6a01a8c0@Agean"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Using a description of the link destination or action is a good accessibility practice.

Jon</pre>
</blockquote>
 
<div class="moz-signature">-- 
Carol E. Wheeler 
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = "> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = </a> 
Web Department 
American Institute for Cancer Research 
1759 R Street NW 
Washington DC 20009 
Tel: 202-328-7744 
Fax: 202-328-7226 
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.aicr.org">http://www.aicr.org<;/a>
</div>
</body>
</html>

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 10:18AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

On 04/01/2011 17:14, John E Brandt wrote:
> Cool. I'd like to see (borrow) that code.

cast your mind back to the middle of the last decade :)

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/improvingprint

>

From: John E Brandt
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 10:24AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Cool. I'd like to see (borrow) that code.

John E. Brandt
www.jebswebs.com
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

From: steven
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 10:36AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

I do recall mention some years back about how links should correspond with
where they link to, but this is generally reserved for links in html emails
to tackle spam filters these days and perhaps is something somebody is
misunderstanding somewhere!?

Regards,

Steven

From: Liz Layman
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 12:27PM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Hello:

In regards to "Some of them have told me that they've read (no references given) 'somewhere
online' that URLs should always be used for link text. I haven't been able
to find this anywhere, but wanted to check here too."

In working on federal contracts with HHS & CMS, they specify in their 508 checklists that URLs should "display the fully qualified URL" - which has been discussed with contracting officials as the full URL when linking externally.

To reference the checklists, please see: http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/checklists/index.html (for example in the word checklist, refer to '1.0 - ID 1.10').

We have discussed how a full [or long] URL such as one generated from a content management system would not be beneficial for a screen reader user to render. I personally feel it would be more beneficial and usable to use link text that describes the source target/link destination (e.g., requirements for XYZ on NASA). The 'click here' is not useful to describe the source target/link destination , and if there are more than one of these on a page it can cause confusion - especially if using a screen reader one chooses to view a list of all links for quick navigation or orientation to the page content.

However, the primary use of the content needs to distinguish how the URL is to be displayed. Is it a web page or content linked from a web page? Is it e-mail text or printed content? I agree with displaying the full URL within an e-mail and on printed content.

Twitter: 508ingGirl

Liz Layman ( = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = )

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication, including any attachments, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. Any review, dissemination, or copying of this communication by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by reply email to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = and delete or destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments thereto. Email sent to or from IFMC or any of its member companies may be retained as required by law or regulation.

From: Jim Allan
Date: Tue, Jan 04 2011 4:06PM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | Next message →

Liz,
that checklist is for Word documents only. It makes sense to have the
fully qualified URL in text in the word document. I would still make
some descriptive text be the link and parenthetically include the
'fully qualified URL'. If you review the 508 HTML Guideline
(http://www.hhs.gov/web/policies/checklisthtml.html) it does not
mention the "fully qualified URL."

Jim

On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 1:27 PM, Liz Layman < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hello:
>
> In regards to "Some of them have told me that they've read (no references given) 'somewhere
> online' that URLs should always be used for link text. I haven't been able
> to find this anywhere, but wanted to check here too."
>
> In working on federal contracts with HHS & CMS, they specify in their 508 checklists that URLs should "display the fully qualified URL" - which has been discussed with contracting officials as the full URL when linking externally.
>
> To reference the checklists, please see: http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/checklists/index.html (for example in the word checklist, refer to '1.0 - ID 1.10').
>
> We have discussed how a full [or long] URL such as one generated from a content management system would not be beneficial for a screen reader user to render. I personally feel it would be more beneficial and usable to use link text that describes the source target/link destination (e.g., requirements for XYZ on NASA). The 'click here' is not useful to describe the source target/link destination , and if there are more than one of these on a page it can cause confusion - especially if using a screen reader one chooses to view a list of all links for quick navigation or orientation to the page content.
>
> However, the primary use of the content needs to distinguish how the URL is to be displayed. Is it a web page or content linked from a web page? Is it e-mail text or printed content? I agree with displaying the full URL within an e-mail and on printed content.
>
> Twitter: 508ingGirl
>
> Liz Layman ( = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = )
>
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication, including any attachments, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. Any review, dissemination, or copying of this communication by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by reply email to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = and delete or destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments thereto. Email sent to or from IFMC or any of its member companies may be retained as required by law or regulation.
>
>

From: Gareth Dart
Date: Wed, Jan 05 2011 12:57AM
Subject: Re: Link text best practice
← Previous message | No next message

Dear all,

Thank you very much for confirming this - good to know I haven't been passing on disinformation for the past 3 years - and thanks also for the extra bits of info too.

Many thanks,

G

PS - and now I know what phytochemicals are too!

Gareth Dart
Web Developer
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
95 Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1HZ
T 01242 211128 F 01242 211122 W www.hesa.ac.uk