Introduction
When you are adding hyperlinks to your document they must be presented in a specific way to be considered accessible. The web address for your link must never be written out in full. You must always describe the link using normal language and link that text to the destination you want it to go to.
When thinking about a text description for your link consider what website and page you are linking to. Try to be brief but specific. For example, if you are linking to the ‘Jobs and Careers’ page of the Somerset Council website, your description would be the “Somerset Council Jobs and Careers page”.
Inaccessible link examples
- “For more information visit https://somerset.gov.uk” – this example is underlined but not linked, and does not use an accessible text description
- “For more information visit https://somerset.gov.uk” – this example is linked properly but does not use an accessible text description
- “For more information click here” – this example is linked properly but the text description does not explain where it links to
Accessible link example
“For more information visit the Somerset Council website.” – this example is linked properly and uses an accessible text description
Colour and formatting
You will notice that Word automatically makes your linked text blue and underlined. This is to make it visually distinct from other text in both colour and formatting. Remember we cannot use just colour to convey meaning so the underline is important. It is acceptable to change the colour of your linked text to fit in with the branding of the document. But be aware that it must still be visually distinct from the other text, and pass the colour contrast guidelines that all text is subject to.
Why it matters
Assistive technology will read an inaccessible link out as letters and words, for example “H T T P S colon backslash backslash…” and so on. This is extremely frustrating to listen to. It takes a long time and can make the address very hard to understand, especially if it is a long or complicated link.
It is also much harder for sighted users to read and understand, especially if they are Dyslexic or have a learning difficulty.
Some assistive technology users will navigate the document by asking it to read out just the links. This takes them out of the context of the sentence they were part of, which is why the linked text itself must be descriptive.
How to do it
To add linked text using Word:
- Write the link description
- Select the words using your mouse or keyboard
- Right click and choose ‘Link’
- A box will appear which allows you to choose what to link to. You can:
- choose the document you want to link to
- write the link web address in the ‘Address’ bar at the bottom of the box
- choose the ‘E-mail address’ option and enter the recipient email address, as well as the subject line if you would like it to say something specific
- Once you have chosen what to link to or added the address, choose ‘OK’