When creating a link on a web page, it is important that the text for the link is meaningful to the website visitor.

It is common to see click here for a link to another web page or website. The trouble is that click here is not meaningful to the person visiting the web page.

I came across the following example on a UW website:

Click here for information about research opportunities in our department.

A better way to present this link is:

Learn more about research opportunities in our department.

This is a meaningful link because it clearly lets the web-page visitor know that the link leads to content about research opportunities.

You may notice that your eyes are drawn to the text for the links because it is underlined and/or a different colour than the regular content on the web page. This helps us scan the links on the web page, and is a key reason to make sure that the text for each link is meaningful.

Note that only link-text for real links should be underlined in web content. I break this rule here for the sake of example because I have regular web content underlined.

Meaningful links can also help people who are using assistive technologies to navigate a website. For example, screen readers for visually impaired people can jump from link-text to link-text skipping the regular content on a web page. Imagine how frustrating it must be to hear "click here" over and over again.

Note that choosing examples for my posts is entirely random. When I have a tip that I would like to share, I search through UW websites and web pages until I find an example – or two - that can help explain the tip. If one of your websites or web pages ends up being an example, then please consider implementing the tip.