This week Robert Hardy, our district website accessibility specialist, shares about how to create descriptive link text. Please call Robert with any accessibility questions at Ext. 6105. He is more than happy to talk by phone or schedule a time to meet with you.

When adding links to a page, be sure to use descriptive link text. Screen reader users may often navigate through a site using the tab key or a list of links. This practice presents these users with link text devoid of context. Without context, phrases such as ‘click here’ or ‘read more’ can be bewildering.

Instead, try to let the user know the destination by defining the link’s destination within the link text itself. Often, a good link text will be the title of the page you are referencing. For instance, rather than saying “To read more about kindergarten registration, click here,” a better link text could read “For more information, visit the kindergarten registration page.”

Another thing to avoid for digital content is placing the text of the URL directly on the page. A screen reader user encountering “https://www.google.com/” will not be able to skip through the link text, and will be forced to listen to “h, t, t, p, s, colon, backslash, backslash, w, w, w, dot, g…” This can be a time-consuming process, especially for longer URLs. Only include URL text if the document is intended for printing or displaying in a presentation.

As always, if you have any accessibility tips or questions, please feel free to reach out to the district’s Website Accessibility Specialist, Robert Hardy at extension 6105.