{"id":5267,"date":"2026-03-30T09:45:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/?p=5267"},"modified":"2026-03-30T09:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:45:43","slug":"link-accessibility-faqs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/2026\/03\/30\/link-accessibility-faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"Link Accessibility &#8211; FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The golden rule of link accessibility: links should be descriptive! For foundational information on the why and the how, see <a href=\"https:\/\/accessibility.oregonstate.edu\/digital-accessibility\/topic\/links\">OSU Digital Accessibility &#8211; Links<\/a>.) \u00a0Let\u2019s dig deeper into a few common questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#click-here\">Can I use \u201cclick here\u201d or \u201cthis\u201d for my link text?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#image-link\">Can I link an image?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#citation-link\">Proper citations include URLs. How do we make those accessible?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#repeat-link\">Is it ok to repeat a link multiple times on a page?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#ghost-links\">Canvas is flagging some links that don\u2019t seem to exist!<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#no-underline\">BONUS link-related tip: Don\u2019t underline regular text<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"click-here\">Can I use \u201cclick here\u201d or \u201cthis\u201d for my link text?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This practice is not ideal, and it\u2019s best to avoid it. While WCAG does permit it when surrounding context provides enough information, you would not be creating a good experience for your audience. That type of text is not descriptive enough to show the user where the link will go, and it\u2019s especially problematic if this text appears multiple times! Think of people skimming the content \u2013 whether visually or via assistive technologies. It\u2019s much more helpful when the text clearly conveys the link&#8217;s function or destination. See an example below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"655\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205501-1024x655.png\" alt=\"Side-by-side comparison of unhelpful versus descriptive link text. On the left, three sentences each use 'click here' as the link text. Below, a simulated screen reader link list shows three identical 'click here' entries with no way to distinguish them. On the right, the same three sentences use descriptive link text: 'OSU Digital Accessibility guidelines,' 'W3C WAI Functional Images,' and 'APA citation formatting examples.' The screen reader link list below shows all three distinct, meaningful labels.\" class=\"wp-image-5269\" style=\"width:770px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205501-1024x655.png 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205501-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205501-768x491.png 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205501.png 1244w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-link\">Can I link an image?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, you can use an image directly as a link or button. But! If the image serves as a link on its own, make sure to write alt text that describes the action initiated by the link. The example image below is linked to an interactive lesson about cat behavior. Therefore, you would use the alt text \u201cCat Behavior Interactive Lesson\u201d, NOT describe the image. See more explanations and examples on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/WAI\/tutorials\/images\/functional\/\">W3C WAI Functional Images page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/cat-lesson-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Example image for cat behavior lesson.\" class=\"wp-image-5279\" style=\"width:635px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/cat-lesson-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/cat-lesson-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/cat-lesson-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/cat-lesson.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"citation-link\">Proper citations include URLs. How do we make those accessible?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Citation styles may be strict, but they do allow some flexibility for online-only resources and materials outside of formal papers. The recommended practice is to link the work title and ditch the DOI or URL, like in the example below. Check out more examples and explanations for <a href=\"https:\/\/apastyle.apa.org\/style-grammar-guidelines\/paper-format\/accessibility\/urls\">APA<\/a> and for <a href=\"https:\/\/style.mla.org\/accessible-links-in-entries\/\">MLA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"474\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205523-1024x474.png\" alt=\"Side-by-side comparison of two APA citations for the same source. On the left, the citation ends with a long DOI URL displayed as a hyperlink. On the right, the article title is hyperlinked instead and the URL is removed entirely, resulting in a cleaner, more accessible reference.\" class=\"wp-image-5272\" style=\"width:786px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205523-1024x474.png 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205523-300x139.png 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205523-768x355.png 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-205523.png 1236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"repeat-link\">Is it ok to repeat a link multiple times on a page?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Try not to! Having redundant links may increase extraneous cognitive load, since people may wonder whether they go to the same place or need to click the link again. The article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/duplicate-links\/\">The Same Link Twice on the Same Page: Do Duplicates Help or Hurt?<\/a> gives a detailed explanation of why this may cause problems. The <a href=\"https:\/\/accessibility.umn.edu\/getting-started\/learn-7-core-accessibility-skills\/links\">Office for Digital Accessibility at the University of Minnesota<\/a> also includes \u201cAvoid Repetitious Links\u201d in their Dos and Don\u2019ts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ghost-links\">Canvas is flagging some links that don\u2019t seem to exist!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may have noticed, on occasion, \u201cghost links\u201d in Canvas. The link validator or accessibility checker says there\u2019s a broken or duplicate link, but when you look at the text, there\u2019s nothing there. However, if you switch to the HTML editor, you\u2019ll find the link lurking underneath. In the example below, you can see that there are actually two links instead of one: the Assignment 1 link was not completely deleted when I replaced it with Assignment 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What happens is that sometimes, if you delete text without unlinking first, the link may persist. To avoid this situation, make sure to remove the links before deleting or pasting in text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"279\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/ghost-link-1024x279.png\" alt=\"Rich text editor showing one link vs html editor showing two links.\" class=\"wp-image-5277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/ghost-link-1024x279.png 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/ghost-link-300x82.png 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/ghost-link-768x209.png 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/ghost-link.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"no-underline\">BONUS link-related tip: Don\u2019t underline regular text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, links are underlined, and most people think of links when they see underlined text. This may be confusing when they try to access the link and it doesn&#8217;t work. In addition, underlining is just not a good way of highlighting information. For more information, see an article and video from Boise State University: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/webguide\/accessibility\/mastering-web-accessibility\/underlined-text\/\">Underlined text<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"153\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-204916-1024x153.png\" alt=\"A sample paragraph where the phrase 'rubric and grading criteria' is underlined but is not a link, while 'Course Resources page' is an actual hyperlink. \" class=\"wp-image-5273\" style=\"width:788px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-204916-1024x153.png 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-204916-300x45.png 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-204916-768x115.png 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/1504\/files\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-09-204916.png 1186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>These practices make your course more readable, easy to navigate, and overall, more enjoyable for your students!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The golden rule of link accessibility: links should be descriptive! For foundational information on the why and the how, see OSU Digital Accessibility &#8211; Links.) \u00a0Let\u2019s dig deeper into a few common questions: Can I use \u201cclick here\u201d or \u201cthis\u201d for my link text? This practice is not ideal, and it\u2019s best to avoid it.&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/2026\/03\/30\/link-accessibility-faqs\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10737,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1393925,50450],"tags":[2714,103045,1839,120,88537,155],"class_list":["post-5267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessibility-udl","category-tips-tricks","tag-accessibility","tag-course-design","tag-ecampus","tag-instructional-design","tag-online-learning","tag-oregon-state-university"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10737"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5267"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5287,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5267\/revisions\/5287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}