Links

Owned by Danielle Turner (Unlicensed)
Apr 30, 2020
2 min read


Link text is used to describe the content that you're linking to on your website. Users of screen readers (a type of assistive technology for the visually impaired) can use link text to generate a list of links, which the screen reader then reads aloud alphabetically. This makes it much easier for visually impaired users to find and select the links they want, and then navigate around your website from there. Because of this, link text should be as descriptive as possible; users should know exactly what content they will be accessing after following the link. Avoid using descriptions that require visual context, like “Click Here” and “Read More,” as visually impaired users will have no idea where those links will lead them.

How to Fix Link Text Issues

  • From the left sidebar main menu of your Siteimprove Dashboard, click on Accessibility; this will open the Accessibility submenu

  • From the Accessibility submenu, click on Issues; this will open a table that lists all accessibility issues for you to review

  • From the filter options at the top right of the table, click on Priority Issues; this will expand the Priority Issues filter submenu

  • From the filter options, select Issues with Links; this will filter your results to display only issues with link text

    •  Note: Some examples of descriptions for link text issues include:

  • Link is too generic in its current content

  • Link text used for multiple different destinations

  • Link identified only by color

  • From the list of link text issues on the table, select the link text issue you want to fix by clicking on its description; this will take you to an overview page listing all the pages on your site affected by this link text issue

    • Note: At the top of the page, you will see the Description of the link text issue as well as a suggestion on How to fix it

  • Scroll down the overview page until you see the table listing all the pages affected by that link text issue

  • Click on the title of one of the affected pages; this will take you to the Page Report for that page

  • You will now see every instance of that link text issue highlighted on the Page Report

  • Go to the page affected by the link text issue in your Content Management System (CMS)

  • Fix the link text issue and republish the page

    • Note: Once the fix is live, you can re-check the page in Siteimprove to make sure the alt text issue was fixed correctly