Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.4 [Link Purpose (Context)]
2.4.4 The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text [begin add]or the link text together with[end add] [begin delete]and[end delete] its programmatically determinable link context. [2020] [2152] [2050] [2249] [1951] (Level A)
Editorial Note: There is debate about whether pages that fail this success criterion in fact present a problem for assistive technology. The status of this item as a Level A success criterion is therefore "at risk" as a Level A success criterion depending on AT support and relative need for this provision.
Intent of this Success Criterion
The intent of this success criterion is to help users understand the purpose of each link so they can decide whether they want to follow the link. [begin add]Whenever possible, provide link text that identifies the purpose of the link without needing additional context.[end add] [begin delete]This is generally achieved by reading the link itself. [2324] [end delete] Assistive technology has the ability to provide users with a list of links that are on the Web page. Link text that is as meaningful as possible will aid users who want to choose from this list of links. Meaningful link text also helps those who wish to tab from link to link. Meaningful links help users choose which links to follow without requiring complicated strategies to understand the page.
In some situations, authors may want to provide part of the description of the link in logically related text that provides the context for the link. In this case the user should be able to identify the purpose of the link without moving focus from the link. In other words, they can arrive on a link and find out more about it without losing their place. This can be achieved by putting the description of the link in the same sentence, paragraph, list item, or table cell as the link, or in the table header cell for a link in a data table, because these are directly associated with the link itself.
[end add]This context will be most usable if it precedes the link. (For instance, if you must use ambiguous link text, it is better to put it at the end of the sentence that describes its destination, rather than putting the ambiguous phrase at the beginning of the sentence.) If the description follows the link, there can be confusion and difficulty for screen reader users who are reading through the page in order (top to bottom). [2324]
[end add]In some situations, authors may want to provide part of the description of the link in the nearby text. In this case the user should be able to identify the purpose of the link without moving focus from the link. In other words, they can arrive on a link and find out more about it without losing their place. This can be achieved by putting the description of the link in the same sentence, paragraph, list item, or table cell as the link because these are directly associated with the link itself. These descriptions will be most useful to the user if the description of the link precedes the link. (For instance, if you must use ambiguous link text, it is better to put it at the end of the sentence that describes its destination, rather than putting the ambiguous phrase at the beginning of the sentence.) This is because if the description follows the link, there can be confusion and difficulty for screen reader users who are reading through the page in order (top to bottom).
[end delete]Links with the same destination should have the same descriptions (per Success Criterion 3.2.4), but links with different purposes and destinations should have different descriptions.
Note: There may be situations where the purpose of the link is is supposed to be unknown or obscured. For instance, a game may have links identified only as door #1, door #2, and door #3. This link text would be sufficient because the purpose of the links is to create suspense for all users.
Specific Benefits of Success Criterion 2.4.4:
This success criterion helps people with motion impairment by letting them skip links that they are not interested in, avoiding the keystrokes needed to visit the referenced content and then returning to the current content.
People with cognitive limitations will not become disoriented by multiple means of navigation to and from content they are not interested in.
People with visual disabilities will be able to determine the purpose of a link by exploring the link's context.
Examples of Success Criterion 2.4.4
A link contains text that gives a description of the information at that URL
A page contains the sentence "There was much bloodshed during the Medieval period of history." Where "Medieval period of history" is a link.
A link is preceded by a text description of the information at that URL
A page contains the sentence "Learn more about the Government of Ireland's Commission on Electronic Voting at Go Vote!" where "Go Vote!" is a link.
Both an icon and text are included in the same link
An icon of a voting machine and the text "Government of Ireland's Commission of Electronic Voting" are combined to make a single link. The alt text for the icon is null, since the purpose of the link is already described by the text of the link next to the icon.
A list of book titles
A list of books is available in three formats: HTML, PDF, and mp3 (a recording of a person reading the book). To avoid hearing the title of each book three times (once for each format), the first link for each book is the title of the book, the second link says "PDF" and the third says, "mp3."
News article summaries
A Web page contains a collection of news articles. The main page lists the first few sentences of each article, followed by a "Read more" link. A screen reader command to read the current paragraph provides the context to interpret the purpose of the link.
Related Resources
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 2.4.4 [Link Purpose (Context)]
Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this success criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the success criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.
Sufficient Techniques
G91: Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link
Providing a supplemental description of the purpose of a link using one of the following techniques:
Identifying the purpose of a link using link text combined with programmatically determined link context using one of the following techniques:
Common Failures Identified by the Working Group
The following are common mistakes that are considered failures of Success Criterion 2.4.4 by the WCAG Working Group.
Additional Techniques (Advisory) for 2.4.4
Although not required for conformance, the following additional techniques should be considered in order to make content more accessible. Not all techniques can be used or would be effective in all situations.
Key Terms
- programmatically determinable link context
additional information that can be programmatically determined from relationships with a link, combined with the link text, and presented to users in different modalities
[begin change][end change]Example: In HTML, information that is programmatically determinable from a link in English includes text that is in the same [begin delete]sentence, [end delete]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. [2245]
[begin delete][end delete]Example: A screen reader provides commands to read the current sentence when focus is on a link in that sentence.
[begin add][end add]Note: Since screen readers interpret punctuation, they can also provide the context from the current sentence, when the focus is on a link in that sentence. [2245]