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Accessibility Link Text


Why

People with visual disabilities may zoom the page so that they see a small portion of the screen. There are many types of visual disabilities. One eye condition is Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of 60. Some compare glaucoma to looking through a straw.


What

An accessible link text is a text that makes sense without any context. A link text should explain clearly what information the reader will get by clicking on that link.


How

Some examples of good and bad link text.

Good

Bad

Screenshot from ICRC showing a zoomed version of the link Read more.

Another reason is that Google Search prefers descriptive links.

Write link text using descriptive phrases that provide context for the material that you're linking to.

Google developer documentation style guide: Link Text
Screenshot from ICRC showing three links, one with Read more as the link text.

This example from ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) has three links:

  • Donate
  • Read more
  • Visit the eshop

As you can see from this list, the second link does not make any sense without the context. It takes the user to the page Humanitarian Law and Policy. An improved link text will be Law and policy. Or Read more about humanitarian law and policy. Or somewhere in the middle.

Screenshot from ICRC where thebutton text is Law and policy.

Now we have a link text that is clear for the user.