Accessibility and Inclusive Content
Link Text Clarity Check
Make link purpose understandable outside surrounding sentences, distinguish repeated destinations, expose file behavior, and remove ambiguous labels.
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The downloaded file contains the same fields in editable Markdown.
Link record
- Page and component
- [URL, section, card, table, or navigation]
- Visible link text
- [Exact]
- Computed accessible name
- [Exact]
- Destination
- [URL or anchor]
- Destination title/purpose
- [What the reader finds]
- Behavior
- [Navigate, download, external, new window, jump]
- Requirement
- [Sign-in, payment, language, file reader, or None]
- Repeated label count
- [Number and destinations]
- Risk if unclear
- [Wrong task, lost context, unexpected file, other]
Revision
- Revised visible text
- [Specific label]
- Additional behavior cue
- [File type, size, language, external]
- Component change
- [Link/button/icon/accessibility name]
- Destination fix
- [Redirect, anchor, access, broken link]
- Reviewer
- [Name and date]
- Regression scope
- [Other pages using component]
- Decision
- [Approve, revise, remove, consolidate]
Clarity checks
- Purpose is clear from text or programmatically associated context.
- Identical labels do not lead to meaningfully different destinations.
- Repeated card actions include the item identity.
- Downloads and unusual behaviors are communicated.
- Icon-only links have a concise accessible name.
- Links and buttons match their actual behavior.
- Keyboard focus and assistive link navigation work.
- Destination title, status, and access match the promise.
How to use this template
- Inventory links with visible text, computed accessible name, destination, behavior, and page context.
- Review whether each purpose is understandable when encountered in sequence and out of context.
- Resolve vague, repeated, conflicting, icon-only, bare-URL, and behavior-hiding labels.
- Test keyboard focus, assistive-technology link lists, downloads, anchors, and target states.
- Recheck shared components and monitor links whose destinations or requirements change.
Name the destination or purpose
Replace isolated “click here,” “read more,” “learn more,” and bare URLs with wording that identifies what opens. Context can contribute when it is programmatically connected, but link text should remain useful when scanned quickly or listed by assistive technology. Use the destination's language accurately: “Download the 2026 access guide (PDF)” is more informative than “Guide.” Avoid promising a task the target cannot complete or using an old title after the destination changes.
Distinguish repeated links
On card grids, tables, and search results, repeated “View” labels become indistinguishable. Include the item name in visible or appropriately accessible text, and verify the implemented accessible name. When several links lead to the same destination, consider whether duplication adds value or noise. When links with identical labels lead to different places, revise them. Do not append hidden keyword phrases that make screen-reader output verbose and inconsistent with visible meaning.
Explain unusual behavior
Identify downloads, file type and size where useful, external sites, new windows when unavoidable, in-page jumps, sign-in requirements, and language changes. Do not use icon-only links without an accessible name. Test focus visibility, keyboard activation, target size, color-independent identification, visited state where relevant, and error destinations. Link clarity is inseparable from destination quality: repair redirects, broken anchors, and misleading access states rather than editing only the label.
See the fields in context
Fictional example: community grant cards
Cedar Fund is an invented site and all grant pages are illustrative.
- Current state: Six fictional cards each end with “Learn more,” producing six identical links in a screen-reader list.
- Revision: Use “Review the garden microgrant” and corresponding specific labels for each card.
- Download cue: A separate link becomes “Download garden microgrant criteria (PDF, 240 KB).”
- Behavior fix: An icon that opens a filter panel is converted from a link to a button with an accessible name.
- Retest: Visible text, computed names, keyboard focus, file response, and destinations all agree.
Frequently asked questions
Is “learn more” always inaccessible?
Not always if associated context provides a clear accessible name, but specific visible text is often easier for everyone to scan and maintain.
Should the URL appear in link text?
Usually use a human-readable destination or action. A visible URL can be appropriate when readers need to copy or verify the address.
Must external links open in a new window?
No. Avoid unexpected behavior. If a new window is necessary, communicate it accessibly and consistently.
How should file links be labeled?
Name the resource and include format and size when those affect the decision or experience. Ensure the server response matches the label.