Descriptive link text is a Level A requirement, not a style preference
While reviewing web content, we often found the same pattern over and over: a useful sentence ending in a link on the words “click here” or just “here.” It is one of the most common accessibility failures in web content, and one of the easiest to fix.
WebAIM’s February 2026 analysis of the top one million home pages found ambiguous link text — “click here,” “more,” “continue” — on 15.2% of pages, averaging 5.3 instances per affected page. The number went up from 13.7% in 2025.
Why “here” fails
| Who it affects | What happens |
|---|---|
| Screen reader users | Assistive technology can generate a list of every link on the page. Pulled out of the sentence, “here” describes nothing. |
| Screen reader users | Eight “click here” links become eight identical list entries pointing at eight different destinations. |
| Keyboard users | Tabbing from link to link produces the same context-free announcements. |
| Voice control users | Users speak the link name. Duplicate names force extra disambiguation steps. |
| Low vision users | At high magnification, the surrounding sentence that supplied the context may be off screen. |
| Users with cognitive disabilities | They cannot decide whether a link is worth following without reading and holding the whole sentence. |
| Everyone | Sighted readers scan for links first. Vague link text forces them back into the paragraph. |
| Search engines | Anchor text is a ranking signal. “Click here” tells crawlers nothing about the target page. |
One more point: “click” assumes a mouse. Users tap, press Enter, or activate links by voice.
What the standards say
| Criterion | Level | Requirement in plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) | A | Link purpose must be determinable from the link text, or from the link text plus its programmatically determined context. |
| WCAG 2.4.9 Link Purpose (Link Only) | AAA | Link purpose must be determinable from the link text alone, with no surrounding context. |
| WCAG 3.2.4 Consistent Identification | AA | Components with the same function across a set of pages must be identified consistently. |
Two things worth noting:
- 2.4.4 is Level A — the floor. ADA Title II requires public entities to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes every Level A criterion. (DOJ extended the compliance dates in April 2026: April 26, 2027 for entities serving populations of 50,000 or more, April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts.)
- 2.4.4 technically allows the surrounding sentence to supply context, so a “click here” link inside a clear paragraph may pass an audit. It still fails your users. Write to 2.4.9 and you never have to argue the point.
Fix it
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| To register for the conference, click here. | [Register for the 2026 fall conference] |
| Our accessibility policy can be found here. | Read our [accessibility policy]. |
| Click here to download the enrollment form. | Download the [enrollment form (PDF, 240 KB)]. |
| For more information, click here. | See [tuition rates and payment deadlines]. |
| Read more | [Read more about the STEM scholarship program] |
| https://www.example.edu/admissions/apply/undergraduate | [Apply as an undergraduate] |
Rules for content managers
- Link the words that name the destination. Usually they are already in your sentence.
- Front-load the distinguishing words. “Enrollment form” beats “form for enrollment.”
- Link a meaningful phrase, not a whole sentence, and not a single character.
- Never link a raw URL. Screen readers read the string character by character.
- Name the file type and size inside the link when the target is not a web page: “Budget summary (XLSX, 88 KB).”
- Use identical link text for identical destinations. Use different link text for different destinations.
- Do not include the word “link” in link text. Screen readers already announce it.
- Keep the underline in body text. Color alone is not enough to identify a link.
- For repeating card layouts where the design demands a short label, put the full text in the link and hide the extra visually, or use
aria-label. Keep the accessible name and the visible text in agreement.
A five-minute audit of your own site
- Search your site for “click here,” “here,” “read more,” “learn more,” and “this link.”
- Read only your link text aloud, ignoring every other word on the page. If you cannot tell where a link goes, rewrite it.
- Run the WAVE browser extension. It flags suspicious and redundant link text directly on the page.
- Fix the templates, not just the pages. Repeated “Read more” links usually come from a theme file or a block pattern.
Questions about link text, or about anything else in your WCAG remediation work? Contact the WVNET Development Team.
Sources and further reading
- WebAIM: Links and Hypertext — https://webaim.org/techniques/hypertext/
- WebAIM: Link Text and Appearance — https://webaim.org/techniques/hypertext/link_text
- WebAIM: The WebAIM Million (2026) — https://webaim.org/projects/million/
- W3C: Understanding SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) — https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/link-purpose-in-context.html
- W3C: Understanding SC 2.4.9 Link Purpose (Link Only) — https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/link-purpose-link-only.html
- W3C: Writing for Web Accessibility — Tips for Getting Started — https://www.w3.org/WAI/tips/writing/
- W3C QA Tip: Don’t use “click here” as link text — https://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/noClickHere.html
- ADA.gov: Fact Sheet on the Title II web and mobile app accessibility rule — https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/