How To Write Meaningful Link Text

About Link Text

When it comes to writing text for links, the words used in link text should be descriptive of what the link does or where it leads.

 

Examples of Text-Based Link Text

Most link text that users encounter is in the form of text.

An example of bad link text for a text-based link is:

Want to learn more about links and hypertext? Click here!

The reason why this is a bad example is because when viewed or clicked on out of context, the user has no idea what the link leads to. The main reason we write meaningful text is because of screen reader users. They may jump from link to link skipping contextual information or pull up a list of links on a page. When the context is not contained in the link text, this can make navigating a website for these users a confusing and frustrating experience.

Some examples of good link text for text-based links are:

Want to learn more about links and hypertext?

OR

Want to learn more about links and hypertext? Check out WebAIM’s Link and Hypertext article.

 

Further Reading

• All Link Must Contain Either Text or an Image with Alt Text by NC State University
• Links and Hypertext by WebAIM