This article is the first in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning.

It’s become fairly common for some folks to make web links using the words ‘click here’ or ‘here’ to ensure that users know where to find a link.  Unfortunately this is not accessible web design for making links and can cause confusion for students and staff using technologies that support their disabilities.  It is also terminology that is becoming less relevant, as mobile devices increasingly eliminate the concept of ‘clicking’.

Why is this an issue?

What would you name these links? | Links (by Ravages)

Some students (such as those with visual impairments) use technologies called screen readers which convert the text on the screen into audio or braille to help the user interpret it.  To help users navigate more quickly, most screen readers can highlight the links on the page outside of the textual context they appear in.  If the link is named ‘here’ or ‘click here’ then when it is removed from the original textual context, it does not provide the user with any knowledge about what the link is going to.  In addition, where there are multiple ‘click here’ links on the page, the screen reader will list all of them as ‘click here’ and the user will have no way to differentiate between them.

It can also be more difficult for non-disabled users to find what they want when scanning a page if all they see are many ‘click here’ links, rather than a contextual clue about where the link goes.  As is often the case, accessible practice for some leads to a better experience for all.

What can you do?

It’s easy, just make the link the name of the thing you are linking to rather than writing ‘click here’ after it. 

Bad practice: There is a guide to help with referencing – click here.

Good practice: There is a guide to help with referencing.

This means that the screen reader technology will provide the user with a link that fully describes what they will get. If the page is available to search engines like Google, then it will also be more likely to be identified correctly by the search engine too.