Creating Accessible Links

One of the most important ways you can make your online documents and presentations more usable and accessibility is by using meaningful link text. Links (hyperlinks) should incorporate descriptive text which is meaningful when read out of context and helps the learner know something about the destination of the link. 

1. Clear - Instead of using text like "click here" or "read more" to encourage readers to open a website or document, use the name or description of the website or document as the hyperlink, e.g. Visit Center for Development, Design, & Delivery for additional support.

2. Readable - Avoid leaving the link as the full URL, e.g. https://twu.edu/tlt/information-for-faculty/. Instead, use links that show either the title of the article or describe the link’s content, e.g. Center for Development, Design, & Delivery Information for Faculty.

3. Visually Distinct - Hyperlinks should stand out from other text and should not rely on color as the only way to achieve that. For this reason, do not underline other text for emphasis; only hyperlinks should be underlined.

4. Color Contrast Compliant - Make certain that all hyperlinks meet color contrast compliance. Use the a11y® Color Contrast Accessibility Validator to make sure the colors chosen for hyperlinks, just like for all text, work against the document or presentation background.

5. Keyboard Accessible - Use the Tab key on your keyboard to see if you can navigate to all the links on a page using only your keyboard.

• Bureau of Internet Accessibility. (2018). Quick guide to accessible hyperlinks. Retrieved from https://www.boia.org/blog/quick-guide-to-accessible-hyperlinks 

• Canvas Guide Document. (2020). How do I create hyperlinks to external URLs in the new rich content editor as an instructor? Retrieved from https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-26222-how-do-i-create-hyperlinks-to-external-urls-in-the-new-rich-content-editor-as-an-instructor 

• Google Help Center. (2020). Make your document or presentation more accessible - docs editors help. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6199477?hl=en 

• National Center on Disability and Access to Education(NCDAE). (2020). Cheatsheet. Retrieved from http://ncdae.org/resources/cheatsheets/ 

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). Section 508 Guide: Tagging PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-tagging.pdf