Hyperlinks help with reading and navigating online content. They provide users with a next step/further information, support scan-reading and enhance search engine optimisation.
In the latest of our Quick Guide series, here’s a reminder of our best practice for hyperlinks:
Link text
Your link text should be short phrases – don’t link entire sentences.
Link text needs be descriptive of the content you’re linking to so the user has an idea of where they will be taken if they select the link. Phrases such as ‘click here’ or ‘download’ are unhelpful and not accessible – think about someone relying on a screen reader to navigate your content.
Generic phrases hinder search engine optimisation (SEO). Search engines, like users, take notice of link text. It’s therefore important that link text contains keywords and phrases that you want to rank highly for. No one wants to appear at the top of search results for ‘click here’!
Open in the same browser
Hyperlinks should always open in the same browser tab/window. We leave it up to the user to decide whether they want to open a new tab/window.
Links must work
It sounds obvious but hyperlinks must be checked regularly to make sure they work. My colleagues laugh at me as I often quote Kara Pernice (Nielsen Norman Group) that a broken link is like a broken promise. However, I personally feel disappointed and frustrated when I select a link on a website that turns out to be broken, or if takes me to an unexpected place.
Broken links can damage your credibility to users and won’t help search engine optimisation, as search engines respond to well linked sites.
