Link Purpose

Link purpose is the text that assistive technologies announce to describe a link. In HTML, it corresponds to the text content of the link, the alt attribute of a linked image, or the value of aria-label. A vague purpose like 'click here' makes the link unusable outside a visual context.

Screen readers offer a feature that sighted users rarely suspect: displaying all links on a page as a list. When your links are called "click here", "learn more", "read more", this list resembles a restaurant menu where every dish is called "food". Empty or ambiguous links rank among the six most common accessibility errors according to WebAIM Million 2025.

In HTML, link purpose corresponds to its accessible name. Three scenarios apply.

For a text link, it is the content between the <a> tags. For an image link, it is the alt attribute of the image. For an icon link with no visible text, it is the value of aria-label or visually hidden text.

<!-- Text link: the purpose is the visible text -->
<a href="/pricing">View our pricing</a>
 
<!-- Image link: the purpose comes from alt -->
<a href="/"><img src="logo.svg" alt="Home"></a>
 
<!-- Icon link: the purpose comes from aria-label -->
<a href="/profile" aria-label="My profile">
  <svg aria-hidden="true">…</svg>
</a>

RGAA criterion 6.1 and WCAG criterion 2.4.4 (Level A) require the same thing: users must be able to determine the link destination from its purpose alone, or from its purpose combined with its programmatic context.

#The trap comes from content, not code

A writer types "To download the report, click here". Visually, everything works. A screen reader user browsing the link list hears: "click here". Then "click here". Then "click here" again.

Same problem with article cards. Five identical "Read more" links, five indiscernible destinations.

The fix: place the link on the words that describe the destination. "To download the report, click here" becomes "Download the 2025 Annual Report (PDF, 2.4 MB)". W3C technique H30 details this approach.

Users navigating by voice encounter the same obstacle. They speak the link purpose to activate it. When the page contains ten "click here" links, which one to choose?

Another common reflex: add a title attribute to compensate for poor link purpose. Screen readers ignore title in default configuration. Keyboard users cannot see it. Mobile users cannot either. This is not a solution.

#Summary

A good link purpose describes its destination in a few words. It works on its own, outside the sentence surrounding it. Display your links outside a visual context: if several say the same thing, your users are navigating blind.

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Link context

Link context is the HTML element that surrounds a link and makes its destination clear when the link text alone is insufficient. A paragraph, list item, table cell, or section heading can serve as context, provided that assistive technologies can read them.

Composite Link

A composite link groups an image and text within a single <a> tag. The browser calculates the link's accessible name by concatenating the image's alternative text and the visible text. When the image and text are split into two separate links, screen readers announce two identical consecutive links.

Image link

An image link is a link whose only clickable content is an image. Its text alternative (the alt attribute) becomes the link label for screen reader users. If the alt is missing or describes appearance instead of destination, the link becomes unusable.