{"id":9087,"date":"2021-01-05T17:53:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T22:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=9087"},"modified":"2025-11-18T10:57:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:57:38","slug":"links","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/accessibility\/links\/","title":{"rendered":"Links"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Links must be understandable, predictable, and usable for everyone\u2014including visitors using screen readers, keyboards, or other assistive technologies. Clear, consistent link practices also improve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/analytics-and-seo\/\">SEO<\/a> and overall page usability. This page summarizes the key accessibility requirements. For detailed steps on creating and editing links, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/getting-started\/links\/\">How to Add Links<\/a> page in the User Guide.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:30px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Why Accessible Links Matter<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Screen readers often read links out of context, so link text must communicate its purpose on its own.<\/li>\n<li>Vague or unclear link text makes navigation difficult for users with low vision, cognitive disabilities, or mobility limitations.<\/li>\n<li>Descriptive links help search engines understand your content, improving findability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:30px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Key Requirements for Accessible Links<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Use Clear, Descriptive Link Text<\/h3>\n<p>Link text must tell users exactly where the link leads or what action will happen.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Avoid<\/strong>: click here, read more, learn more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use<\/strong>: \u201cView the Residency Application Requirements.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. Link Text Must Make Sense Out of Context<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Assistive technologies often pull all links into a list. Link text must be meaningful without the surrounding text.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Don\u2019t Use URLs as Link Text<\/h3>\n<p>Using a URL as link text create a poor experience for screen reader users, who must listen to each character being read aloud.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Incorrect<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/urology\/residency\/\">https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/urology\/residency\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Correct<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/urology\/residency\/\">Urology Residency Program<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4. Avoid Opening Links in New Tabs<\/h3>\n<p>Opening a new tab takes control away from the user and can be disorienting for people using screen readers. Only open new tabs when absolutely necessary, and warn users ahead of time.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Ensure Linked Images Have Proper Alt Text<\/h3>\n<p>When an image is a link, the alt text must describe both the image\u2019s purpose and the destination.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Example: \u201cUNC School of Medicine logo, return to homepage.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>6. Maintain Consistency<\/h3>\n<p>Avoid styling plain text to look like links. For example, underlining text or coloring text blue can easily confuse site visitors. Items that are not links should not have characteristics that suggest that they are links.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:30px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Continue to the Full How-To<\/h2>\n<p>For instructions on creating and editing links: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/getting-started\/links\/\">How to Add Links<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Links must be understandable, predictable, and usable for everyone\u2014including visitors using screen readers, keyboards, or other assistive technologies. Clear, consistent link practices also improve SEO and overall page usability. This page summarizes the key accessibility requirements. For detailed steps on creating and editing links, see the How to Add Links page in the User Guide. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/accessibility\/links\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Links\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3206,"featured_media":0,"parent":9092,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-9087","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Links - Web Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/accessibility\/links\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Links - Web Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Links must be understandable, predictable, and usable for everyone\u2014including visitors using screen readers, keyboards, or other assistive technologies. 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