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Thread: "read more" links
Number of posts in this thread: 5 (In chronological order)
From: Julius Charles Serrano
Date: Thu, Mar 29 2012 4:33PM
Subject: "read more" links
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Should we still tell web designers to add more information in the "read
more" link text, although the read more link is very near the first few
sentences of the paragraph?
Julius
--
Julius Charles Serrano
Accessibility Specialist
Catalyst IT Ltd
http://www.catalyst.net.nz
From: Jared Smith
Date: Thu, Mar 29 2012 5:04PM
Subject: Re: "read more" links
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Ambiguous links are problematic for all users. Everyone must scan
before or after the link to determine its function. This is typically
more difficult for screen reader users.
WCAG 2.0 allows ambiguous links as long as the purpose of the link can
be found in the link's context. There is a Level AAA requirement that
all links must make sense all by themselves.
With all this said, if a "Read more" link is necessary and adding more
descriptive text to that link would be clearly repetitive to nearby
text, this could actually decrease it's accessibility for most users.
One option is to simply remove the link and have a preceding heading
be a link to the expanded content. Most users understand this
convention. Another option is to add off-screen, explanatory text to
the "Read more" link for screen reader users.
Jared Smith
WebAIM.org
From: Ryan E. Benson
Date: Thu, Mar 29 2012 7:00PM
Subject: Re: "read more" links
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> One option is to simply remove the link and have a preceding heading
> be a link to the expanded content. Most users understand this
> convention. Another option is to add off-screen, explanatory text to
> the "Read more" link for screen reader users.
I saw a post somewhere yesterday that does just that. They wrap the
post title or wording that provides more context in a span tag then
throw it offscreen. Since the span is still in the anchor, it should
still grab all of the words if you pull up a link list.
--
Ryan E. Benson
On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 7:04 PM, Jared Smith < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Ambiguous links are problematic for all users. Everyone must scan
> before or after the link to determine its function. This is typically
> more difficult for screen reader users.
>
> WCAG 2.0 allows ambiguous links as long as the purpose of the link can
> be found in the link's context. There is a Level AAA requirement that
> all links must make sense all by themselves.
>
> With all this said, if a "Read more" link is necessary and adding more
> descriptive text to that link would be clearly repetitive to nearby
> text, this could actually decrease it's accessibility for most users.
> One option is to simply remove the link and have a preceding heading
> be a link to the expanded content. Most users understand this
> convention. Another option is to add off-screen, explanatory text to
> the "Read more" link for screen reader users.
>
> Jared Smith
> WebAIM.org
> > >
From: Elle
Date: Thu, Mar 29 2012 7:21PM
Subject: Re: "read more" links
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Ryan:
That's what we do, but it doesn't meet AAA requirements or general "good
for everyone" best practice. It's a tough fight to wage, however, with
designers who are concerned with visual real estate.
Cheers,
Elle
On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 9:00 PM, Ryan E. Benson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >wrote:
> > One option is to simply remove the link and have a preceding heading
> > be a link to the expanded content. Most users understand this
> > convention. Another option is to add off-screen, explanatory text to
> > the "Read more" link for screen reader users.
>
> I saw a post somewhere yesterday that does just that. They wrap the
> post title or wording that provides more context in a span tag then
> throw it offscreen. Since the span is still in the anchor, it should
> still grab all of the words if you pull up a link list.
>
> --
> Ryan E. Benson
>
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 7:04 PM, Jared Smith < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> > Ambiguous links are problematic for all users. Everyone must scan
> > before or after the link to determine its function. This is typically
> > more difficult for screen reader users.
> >
> > WCAG 2.0 allows ambiguous links as long as the purpose of the link can
> > be found in the link's context. There is a Level AAA requirement that
> > all links must make sense all by themselves.
> >
> > With all this said, if a "Read more" link is necessary and adding more
> > descriptive text to that link would be clearly repetitive to nearby
> > text, this could actually decrease it's accessibility for most users.
> > One option is to simply remove the link and have a preceding heading
> > be a link to the expanded content. Most users understand this
> > convention. Another option is to add off-screen, explanatory text to
> > the "Read more" link for screen reader users.
> >
> > Jared Smith
> > WebAIM.org
> > > > > > > > > >
--
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the people to gather wood,
divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast
and endless sea.
- Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
From: Julius Charles Serrano
Date: Sun, Apr 01 2012 2:11PM
Subject: Re: "read more" links
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Hi Jared.
Thanks for your reply.
I think removing the link and having a preceding heading be a link to
the content is a very good alternative for "read more".
Julius