Start Small, Start Now, Series 2 of 6 - Accessible Hyperlinks
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Accessible Hyperlinks
Creating accessible hyperlinks can improve everyone’s experience to find what they are looking for on webpages, documents, or course webpages. Many sighted users visually scan pages for links and people with visual impairments may use an assistive technology, such as a screen reader to do the same thing.
It’s quite easy to create accessible hyperlink. Below are a few simple concepts to keep in mind as you create link on your web pages, course websites, or documents.
Embed a link within a concise string of text instead of using its URL as the link text. A screen reader user will be able to understand where the accessible link leads to and not have to listen while the screen reader pronounces every single character of a URL. Examples:
Accessible > Hyperlinks best practices
Not accessible > http://webaim.org/techniques/hypertext/link_text
Help your readers scan a concise hyperlinks quickly to determine whether they want to click through and read the material it links to. Examples:
Concise > Creating Accessible Hyperlinks
Not Concise > This page list ways accessible hyperlinks can benefit screen reader users
Create Descriptive Hyperlinks
There is not a maximum allowable length of link text. However, providing a link that is long enough to convey the purpose of the link is best. Examples:
Descriptive > Types of Link Texts
Not descriptive > Links
Some of the most common links snafus for screen readers are:
When screen readers hear these links, they have no idea where the link is taking them. Therefore, it’s always recommended to avoid using these common links snafus by creating concise and descriptive links.
To request a change to this page or to request access to make changes yourself, email helpdesk@tamuc.edu.