Links

Link text should adhere to the following guidelines:

• The text of the link should describe the link target (the href attribute value). Some assistive technologies allow users to navigate by cycling through all of the links on a page, so nondescriptive, repetetive link text such as “click here” or “learn more” is insufficient and should not be used.
• If the link behaves differently than a standard HTML link (for example, opening in a new tab or opening an email client), this must be indicated either in the text of the link or in the “title” attribute.
• If the link target a non-web document (for example, a PDF, Word document, or Powerpoint presentation), this must be indicated in the link text, the title and/or title attribute. Ideally, an icon next to the linked document indicating the type of document being linked to should also be included.

Examples

Appropriate link text

<a href="about_vp.html">About Van Pelt Library</a>

Opens in a new tab

Example 1 (title attribute)

<a href="larger_view.html" target="_blank" title="opens in a new tab">View larger image</a>

Example 2 (link text)

<a href="larger_view.html" target="_blank">View larger image (opens in a new tab)</a>

Linking to a PDF

Example 1 (title attribute)

<a href="annual_report.pdf" title="PDF document">Annual Report</a>

Example 2 (link text)

<a href="annual_report.pdf">Annual Report (PDF)</a>