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2.4.4 Link Purpose – In Context (Level A)

Decorative shape at the bottom of the section

Write your anchor link text so it’s clear to users what the linked page is about.

What you need to know

  • Anchor text is comprised of the words you attach to a link.
  • Keep in mind that the whole point of link text is to let the user know where they are headed if the click on it.
  • This success criterion allows for more ambiguous link text, so long as the preceding text provides context for the link.
  • This is actually one of the more common accessibility failures of websites, but the good news is it’s one of the easiest things to fix.

What you need to do

  • Use keywords that have meaning when you’re creating links.
  • Don’t use terms like “click here” and “learn more.”
  • Write link descriptions that are easy to read and keep your anchors concise.
  • Be sure to write useful alt text when linking images.
  • Don’t create redundancy.

Reference

Read the full explanation of success criterion 2.4.4 on W3.org.

Related Resource

Check out our blog post “Writing Meaningful Link Text” for more information about this success criterion.