Purposeful Links

Links should be provided within text that describes the purpose of the link. Each link on your site should be easy to understand out of context for users searching for links with assistive devices and for users scanning the page. For these users, a link that says “Learn more” holds little meaning unless they know the content that came before.

In many cases, you can use link text that serves as a call to action. For example, “View more information on purposeful links” tells the user what they’ll find after clicking the link text. If you don’t want to use a call to action or have a list of links, you should create concise link text with either the name or purpose of the link, or the URL itself, so they know exactly where they are headed.

If your link exists within a feature, subfeature, slideshow, carousel or other content type that is in its own section and separate from the main content, link text such as “Learn more” may be used. However, the same phrase should not be used more than once on a page, especially if the same call to action is used to direct users to different URLs. In any case and for any content, purposeful, unique link text is appropriate.