Links

Technical note for advanced editors

The paragraph limit refers to the underlying paragraph markup, that is, all text between <p> and its corresponding </p>. A line break (<br/>) between those two tags does not create a new paragraph, so a link that follows it would remain within the same paragraph context.

If you present two or more related links together as a distinct group, rather than as part of a sentence, you must create a list and present each link as a separate list item.

Use a bulleted list unless the links need to be followed in a particular sequence or their position in the list is meaningful. In those cases, use a numbered list.

This method ensures that assistive technologies can recognise that the links belong together, which is an accessibility requirement when that relationship has been communicated visually.

Example

• Department of Economics
• Department of Finance and Accounting
• Department of Management

If these links occurred within a sentence, they wouldn't need to be presented as a bulleted list.

Options for advanced editors

In-page navigation styling

In the panel template, create a bulleted list and add each link as a separate list item. Add the class menu to the <ul> tag.

Links styled as a row of buttons

In any template, create a bulleted list and add each link as a separate list item. Add the class inline-button-list to the <ul> tag. No other class is needed. An example of this type of list can be seen on the Undergraduate Degrees page.

Links styled as a row of links separated by pipes (|)

In any template, create a bulleted list and add each link as a separate list item. Add the class inline-link-list to the <ul> tag. No other class is needed. An example of this type of list can be seen on the Career Zone page.

In almost all cases you should not use a web address as link text. Instead, use meaningful words that describe the link's destination or purpose.

Example

Rather than using https://www.exeter.ac.uk as your link text, you would use University of Exeter or University of Exeter homepage.

Why?

A web address used as link text:

• can be difficult to read or listen to, particularly when it's long; some screen readers may announce parts of it letter by letter.
• can make it harder for a search engine to understand how the linked page relates to your page.

Meaningful words normally provide clearer link text that is easier for a reader to recognise and find again.

Level of requirement

Avoiding web addresses as link text is best practice rather than a legal compliance requirement.

However, if you use a web address as link text and neither the address nor its immediate context makes the link's destination or purpose clear, the link will not meet legal accessibility requirements.

Using meaningful link text is therefore usually easier for both editors and readers.

Exceptions

The web address contains information that is useful to the reader.

Example

A link that says accessibility statement for www.exeter.ac.uk includes the web address because it identifies the specific web domain covered by the statement. In this case, that is more useful to people and search engines than less specific link text such as 'accessibility statement for the University of Exeter website'.

Ideally, a link's destination or purpose should be clear without its immediate context. In other words, if the link text were taken out of its surrounding sentence, it would still make sense on its own.

This is particularly useful for people who use screen readers to hear the links on a page as a separate list. It can also help search engines understand how the linked page relates to your page.

This is not a legal compliance requirement, but it is a best practice we strongly encourage editors to follow.

These phrases don't make sense when encountered without context. As a rule of thumb, ask: does the link include the subject? (i.e. 'Read more...' – about what?)

Example

Consider:

• Find out more about our research.
• Find out more about our research here.

Both links meet the legal accessibility requirement because their purposes are clear within their surrounding list items. However, the first link also follows best practice because 'our research' makes sense in isolation, while 'here' does not.

Exception

You should generally aim for link text that makes sense in isolation but sometimes this can be difficult without creating a very long link or an awkward sentence.

In these cases it's acceptable to rely on a link's immediate context, as long as the link still meets the requirement explained in the first principle.

Some screen readers allow users to hear the links on a page as a separate list. If identical link text is used for different destinations, a listener will not be able to distinguish between them.

Example

You may have one paragraph about Streatham Campus and another about St Luke's Campus. Within the context of each paragraph, a 'campus facilities' link would make sense, so it would meet the accessibility requirement.

If the page discussed only one campus, 'campus facilities' would also remain clear when heard separately from its paragraph.

But where the page includes two 'campus facilities' links with different destinations, they are indistinguishable when heard out of their paragraph context. It's not clear which refers to Streatham Campus and which refers to St Luke's Campus.

So in this situation the links would ideally say something like:

• facilities at Streatham Campus
• facilities at St Luke's Campus

Why "avoid" rather than "don't"?

The compliance criteria does not require different link text for different destinations if each link can be clearly understood from its immediate context (in the example above this would be its surrounding paragraph).

However, for the reasons given above, it is still best practice, so we strongly advise it wherever possible.

In T4, links are automatically given the styling they need to make clear that they are links to sighted readers. As an editor you don't need to do anything to make a link 'look like' a link.

The button to underline text is not available in T4 for this reason, but some editors may be aware of how to underline text in the code. Underlining is an established way of distinguishing a link online, so underlining must not be used for unlinked text – it will simply look like a broken link.