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Almost, but not quite a guide to accessibility requirements
2 Operable

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)

Conformance level: A
Criterion released in WCAG version: 2.0

Official description of the success criterion

The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text alone or from the link text together with its programmatically determined link context, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general.

What to do?

Ensure the link text describes the purpose of the link.

Why is it important?

Helps users understand the destination of each link.

Common pitfalls

Not realising how much the context is restricted. Here is a quote from the Understanding page:

In HTML, information that is programmatically determinable from a link in English includes text that is in the same paragraph, list, or table cell as the link or in a table header cell that is associated with the table cell that contains the link.

So, elements like cards might not officially provide enough context for links.

How to test for it?

Check all the links on the site:

  • Does the link text make sense in the context it is in?
  • If there are multiple links to the same target, is the link text the same in all of them? If the link takes the user to the same target, it should always have the same link text.
  • Are there links to different targets with the same link text? The link texts shouldn't be the same if the targets are different.

More about this criterion elsewhere