Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks should have meaningful titles that give readers a clear idea of where they're going if they click. Titles like "click here" or "check this out" do little to help readers know where the link leads.

The problem becomes more acute for those who use speech readers, like Jaws. These people often use the tab key rather than the mouse to move through the links on a web page. The speech reader reads out the links, ignoring other text on the page. Imagine navigating your web pages by "hearing" only the links. Would the site be understandable? Are there links that seem to duplicate the same idea?

Bad example

Student/Faculty mentor program is available for qualifying students. Click here for more information.

Good example

Student/Faculty mentor program is available for qualifying students.

Abbreviations

Consider the problems abbreviations can create if you use them as links. Will the link be descriptive to those unfamiliar with the university? Many university acronyms, such as COB for College of Business or ITS for Information Technology Services, are not commonly known beyond the university.

Good link titles help readers avoid the frustrations of clicking into places they don't want to be.