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Accessibility: Hyperlinks

This guide provides resources for creating content that is accessible for everyone.

Accessible Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks make it possible to provide additional resources in a website, document, or email. Hyperlinks typically are underlined and may change color when selected so that visual users can easily identify them. For users with visual impairments, screen readers allow users to pull up a list of links on the page so that users can navigate them quickly. Follow these suggestions to create links that are accessible and usable for all users:

  1. Embed the Link: To make a live, embedded hyperlink, highlight the text that you want to make into a hyperlink and insert the link. Keyboard shortcuts are typically control and K (or command and K on a Mac).
  2. Use Descriptive Text: The text used for the link should describe the information provided by the hyperlink. Do not just copy and paste the URL into your document because a screen reader will read the URL. URLs also tend to be long.
  3. Be Informative: Phrases like "click here", "more", "link to...", etc. do not describe the information provided by the hyperlink. The text for each link should be unique.
  4. Be Concise:  Provide enough detail that users know where it goes, but keep the link short enough to avoid line breaks within the hyperlink. This might make it look like two links. Also, shorter descriptions help users of screen readers navigate links quickly.
  5. Formatting Links: Underlining links and using a different font color than the surrounding text are helpful visual cues for sighted users. Links on most websites are formatted as blue text that and is underlined when you mouse over the link. Do not underline text that is not a link as this may cause confusion. Instead, use bold or italics to add emphasis (but not both at the same time). 
  6. Warn Users of Link Behavior: Use consistent link behavior. In websites, make internal links open in the same window and external links open in a new tab. Warn users when something will download or open in a new window. Users with cognitive or visual disabilities may not notice if a link initiates a download or opens in a new window. Links that open in a new window can be especially disorienting because the "back" button is disabled. Add text to the link such as "(opens in new window)" or include an icon with an appropriate alternative text attribute. For downloads, include information about the file type (i.e. "Syllabus (PDF)").

Resources for Creating Accessible Hyperlinks

The following resources provide additional information on creating usable and accessible hyperlinks: