Links

Try to

• Be descriptive and meaningful
• Make the destination clear — what will the user see if they click on the link?
• Put relevant terms closest to start
• When linking to information, try to use the page title as the link
• When linking to a task or action, use a verb at the start

Try not to

• Put too many links on a page
• Use one word links
• Use ‘click here’ or ‘learn more’ as link text
• Use links in titles or descriptions — anywhere in body text is fine
• Put urls in link text
• Capitalize links
• Use strange characters and puncutation, e.g. use "to" instead of an em dash. 17 to 21 years not 17 – 21 years

Nielsen Norman Group’s Better Link Labels: 4Ss for Encouraging Clicks

Try to make your links:

• Specific — Communicate to users what they’ll find
• Sincere — Labels must set expectations that will be instantly met
• Substantial — Users often look at links without reading any surrounding text so links must be able to stand alone
• Succinct — Don’t waste words, but balance with the other priorities (specific, sincere, substantial)

For discussion

• External links - target _blank and external link icon class. Opening new windows / tabs  
• Linking directly to downloads
• Create example pages of good practice and bad practice

Sources and further reading

• Links — Content design: planning, writing and managing content — gov.uk
• Writing useful and accessible link text for websites — University of Dundee
• Writing descriptive links — Imperial College London
• “Learn More” Links: You Can Do Better — Nielsen Norman Group