Suggestion Report

Link text should be descriptive.

What Is Link Text?

Link text is the visible text of a link. It is possible to create links without text, so we refer to the clickable text as link text or linked text.

Simultaneously, link text can be used to describe a linked image's alternative text. The alternative text is a written representation of the image that a visually impaired person using a text-to-speech or screen reader program would need in order to know the purpose of the image and the destination of the link.

Why Is This Important?

If the linked text is not descriptive, students will not be able to determine the destination of a link before they click it. This forced leap of faith may not sit well with some students who are not technologically savvy. Additionally, when students want to refer back to a linked resource, non-descriptive links makes the process of finding the resource difficult. Lastly, students who rely on text-to-speech or screen reader programs to experience the web need descriptive links so that when they use their program to pull up a list of the webpage's links, they know where each link will take them without having to first check the context.

Cause Of Error

To get this UDOIT result, you will need to links with naked URLs, "Click here," or "Here" as your link text. It's also recommended that you avoid using "Read more" and "Click" as your link text.

Examples

Incorrect Examples

https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504

Click here

Here

Correct Example

UDOIT Information

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Incorrect Examples Code

<p><a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504">https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504</a></p>

<p><a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504">Click here</a></p>

<p><a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504">Here</a></p>

Correct Example Code

<p><a href="https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-6504">UDOIT Information</a></p>

How To Fix It

U Fix It! Button
In Rich Content Editor
In HTML Editor

Within UDOIT, if you click the U FIX IT! button, you will be provided with

A text field where you can enter in New link text (the text that students will see).
A Delete this Link completely instead checkbox.

To determine the correct route, click the View the source of this issue, right-click on the link in the Preview box and open the link in a new tab or window. After opening the link, if you determine that new link text is needed, make note of or copy the title of the resource. This is often what you will want your new link text to be.

After you've either filled the field or checked the checkbox, click the Submit button and UDOIT will apply the change.

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To fix the issue through the Rich Content Editor, start by clicking the View the source of this issue link for this error in the UDOIT report, copying the text in the Preview box, and then clicking the page title above this error to navigate to the page where the error resides. If you do not use the "View the source..." link in the UDOIT report, you will have to find the link manually.

Once on the page where the issue resides, open the page in editing mode, type Ctrl/⌘ + F to open the web browser's Find tool, paste the text you copied into the Find tool, and locate the link. Once located, place the typing cursor (blinking line) between the first and second or last and second-to-last characters in the link, type the new link text, delete the old link text, and save the page.

If the link is an image, use the directions on Alt text for img elements with source anchors to repair the issue.

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To fix the issue through the HTML Editor, start by clicking the View the source of this issue link in the UDOIT report, and copying all of the Source text except Line [number]:[space]. Next, click the page title above this error to open the page where the issue resides, open the page in editing mode, and then click the HTML Editor link in the upper right. Afterward, use Ctrl/⌘ + F to open the web browser's Find tool, paste the text you copied into the Find tool, and locate the ink. Once found, edit or replace the text between <a [...]> and </a> of the text link or the text between alt=" and " of the image link. Then save the page.

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Related Result Pages

Errors
- Alt text for img elements with source anchors
- Link text not found*

Related Standards

Last Updated January 2017.
Clemson Online