Standard: Link Text and Printing URLs
Brief description
(see the full document below for details)
The text you choose for links describes what the visitor will find at the next link and help people easily navigate your materials. Standard colors make it easier to find links.
Note: This is a "legacy" standard, written before the Web Council was created. It has been in force since the effective date. Since the creation of the Web Council, it has been rewritten to follow the normal layout for standards. "Date approved" refers to when the Web Council approved this rewritten version.
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All standards and guidance
Content requirements
- Links must be adequately and properly described. Make sure that your visitor understands what type of information you're linking to (for example, report, brochure, Powerpoint presentation, etc.).
- Do not use short, non-descriptive phrases like "click here" or "available online."
- Whether linking externally or to another page within epa.gov, always link to the most relevant page. Whenever possible, avoid linking to agency or organization home pages.
- Links outside of epa.gov must meet the requirements and presentation set out by the External Site Links procedure.
- Link text must match your destination page; except in unusual circumstances, it should be the same or close to the destination page's name.
- When presenting lists of related links, use a description of the resource as the link text, but also provide the URL as unlinked text. Alternatively, you may code the page to display links as footnotes following the instructions for the EPA template.
- If you are developing a site for kids, students, and/or educators, consult the EPA educational site linking
criteria set by EPA's Environmental Education Web Workgroup.
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Style requirements
- Use default link colors specified by the master style sheet for links (both visited and unvisited); do not modify these basic colors. However, you may use other colors to draw attention to a very small number of specific links.
- Do not use black as a link color because that is the normal unlinked text color.
- When providing lists of links as references, include URLs as plain unlinked text in parentheses after each link.
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How to
Code links using normal HTML tags.
If, instead, you choose to list URLs as footnotes at the bottom of a printed page, follow the instructions for the EPA template: http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/docs/printversion.html#referenceurls.
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Examples
Yes:
- Acid Rain Progress Report
- Fact Sheet About the Rule
- 2006 Grant Guidelines
No:
- Report
- Click Here
- Available
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Rationale
People scan pages as opposed to reading every word. Meaningful link text can help visitors understand their options much better than "click here" or "report" - those phrases convey no information about the destination. This is especially a problem for blind visitors, who can ask screen readers for a list of links. Hearing the phrase "Click here" repeated is useless to them. Similarly, sighted visitors pay more attention to colored text, and it's more helpful to have meaningful phrases than generic ones.
Providing URLs explicitly after each link in a list helps:
- Blind people using screen readers that scan a list of all link text on a page.
- People who print link lists as a printed reference.
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Related governance documents
EPA
Related Policies
Related Procedures
Related Standards
Related Guidance
Non-EPA
None
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Full Metadata about this standard
Name Link Text and Printing URLs
Tracking number NT00000000
Type Standard
Required or Recommended Required
Effective date 01/01/2004
Date approved 03/12/2007
Category Links and Navigation, Writing and Style
Web Council review by 03/12/2009 (or earlier if deemed necessary by the Web Council)
Governing Policy Web Governance and Management (PDF) (4 pp, 339K, About PDF)
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