Hyperlinks
Assistive technologies allow users to navigate a document or webpage by just the hyperlinks found on the page. Screen readers read the text of the link on your screen. Links like "click here" or "more" have no context or meaning in this scenario. Likewise, if you use a URL as a link, the screen reader will read the full URL, including all of the gibberish like www, index.php, etc. This makes it difficult to hear what the link is actually for.
DO: |
DON'T: |
- Use short, descriptive phrases as hyperlinks.
- Try to make links more than one word — they're easier to click on.
- For links to documents, include the type of document in parentheses (pdf).
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- Use vague, directional text like "click here."
- Copy and paste URLs from your browser, or write out a full URL like https://www.wm.edu. If the URL is important, like advertising for a website, write out the URL as simply as possible to minimize a screen reader having to read unnecessary characters, such as "www.wm.edu".
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