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Accessibility Checklist

This guide contains major best practices for creating accessible online content. This guide used to be part of the LibGuides Editor training but has become a standalone guide.

Accessible Linking Practices

Best Practices for URLs and Hypertext

Links can point users to their next step or a helpful resources, but poor linking practices can create accessibility barriers and ruin user experience. 

Preferred Practice       Needs Improvement Preferred Method Rationale

Linked text should be descriptive enough that users can understand the link destination out of context. 

Avoid non-informative link phrases like, "Click here," "learn more," "info," "here," "more," "read more," or "link to [destination]"

 The UWM Libraries has reservable group study rooms. Click here to learn more.  Reserve a group study room in the library. 
  • "Click here is unnecessary even if it proceeds or is proceeded by useful description. 
  • "Reserve a group study room" is a stand-alone phrase that a user and admin can understand without additional context. There are no surprises for the user-- it's clear that this link leads to a page where they can book a room. 
  • It is hard to maintain link assets that are not descriptive.

Links should open in the SAME window/the page where the link appears.

Only set links to open in a new window if absolutely necessary. When you do this, please include the text label "[Opens in a new tab]" along with your hypertext. 

 Visit the Citations Styles Guide page on APA to learn how to cite scholarly articles for your paper. Visit the Citations Styles Guide page on APA to learn how to cite scholarly articles for your paper.
  • Links that open in a new window or tab can disrupt the browsing experience of people using assistive technology. 

(Opening in the same window/tab is the LibGuides system default.)
Opt for descriptive hypertext over long, hard to read URLs. 

https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117

January 2025 MIT News article titled, "Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact."
  • Assistive tech tools read URLs as full phrases with dashes and slashes and random numbers. This is unpleasant and unhelpful.
  • Some user may be able to get a sense for the URL's content, but most users will understand the sentence describing the link destination. 
All LibGuide pages should have friendly URLs https://guides.library.uwm.edu/c.php?g=751700&p=5384458

 

https://guides.library.uwm.edu/aads311/books
  • Friendly URLs are descriptive of the destination
  • Easy to jot down, write on a whiteboard, or remember

Whenever possible, add links to your guides as assets instead of linked paragraph text in the Rich Text editor box. 

 Click here to learn more about assets.

See bulleted links below titled "Overview of LibGuides Assets" and "Add a Link Asset to a LibGuide" for examples of link assets.

 

Note: link assets cannot be added in the middle of a sentence in the rich text editor, so there are times when hypertext is necessary. Linked paragraph text is allowed, but please use it sparingly.
  • Links assets can be reused and updated centrally. 
  • It is easier for LibGuides admin to find and update link assets and maintain them over time.