Links

When you follow a link online, the text that you click on to do so is the link’s “label”. The web page address, or URL, is the link’s “destination”. Most screen reader users use links to quickly navigate a page, so instead of hearing paragraphs of text, most screen reader users just hear the links. Using descriptive language to define link text is very important so the user understands the link out of context of the surrounding language. 

Main Considerations

There are several issues that can make links difficult or impossible to understand:

  • Avoid URLs (http://....) for links as a screen reader will read character by character if it can't make out words. It can be very frustrating to have to listen to URLs read aloud, especially over and over again.
  • Do not use generic link labels such as “here”, “click here”, "read more", or “website.” These do not make sense out of context, so the user has no clues about the link’s destination.
  • Use distinct descriptive text for each link on a webpage that goes to different destinations.

Also note that best practice is to not have links open in new windows. When someone is using assistive technology like screen readers, it might not be obvious when a new window or tab has opened. In these cases, users may become confused or frustrated when they aren’t able to use the “back” button.

Examples

Imagine the following items are being read to you as screen reader software would, where the screen reader announces the element name before reading the link. Which example would be easier for you to understand out of context?