Accessible LibGuides

When you add a hyperlink, you must change the link target (i.e. where it opens), so that it opens in the same window as your guide. Here's how:

• Using the Rich Text/HTML Asset Editor/Content Type
  1. Click the Target Tab
  2. Select Same Window (_self) from the dropdown menu
• Using the Link Asset Editor/Content Type

1. Select Current Window from the Target dropdown menu.
2. Do not use More Info. Put any additional information in the Description field instead. More Info creates an ambiguous link name (more...) that should not be a link at all.
3. Always set Description Display to Display beneath the item title. Providing the description on hover makes it inaccessible for many users.
4. Do not assign resource icons.

Fun Fact: LibGuides link checker tool doesn't check links created using the Rich Text / HTML Content Type. It only checks links created with the Link Content Type, so don't rely on the Link Checker tool to catch all your broken links. (Content types are what you choose from the dropdown menu before adding to or editing a box.)

Reference: WCAG 2.2, SC 3.2.5 (Level AAA): Change on Request and WCAG 2.2, SC 2.4.4 (Level A): Link Purpose in Context

Link text must correctly describe the purpose of the link in a few words and tell a user about where the link will take them.

• Link names such as "click here," "more information," and "read more" should not be used because they do not provide enough descriptive information about a link and, when used out of context, may make it difficult for users to understand the link's purpose. Screen readers frequently read links by name out of context when a user requests to hear a list of links on a page so they can quickly navigate to them.
• Do not give your link the URL name. The URL should not appear until the link has opened and the user is at the link destination. This is because screen readers will read the URL letter by letter, sometimes twice if it's on the screen. A screen reader can be configured just to read the links on the page to hunt for a link, and URLs are meaningless.
• Links that go to the same place should have the same link text, if possible. The goal is for the user to be able to determine the purpose of the link from the link text and the context of the link. 
• Links that go to different places should have different link text. For example, if you are linking to two different online newspapers, the link text for both shouldn't be "newspaper", even if you mentioned the name earlier in the sentence. It should be each newspaper's respective name.

References: WCAG 2.2, SC 2.4.6 (Level AA): Headings and Labels and WCAG 2.2, SC 2.4.4 (Level A): Link Purpose in Context

Don't link your guide pages (i.e. menu items or tabs) so that they redirect to another LibGuide or website, even if it opens in the same window. 

Example: You have a page on your guide called Citation Support. Instead of opening the Citation Support guide when users click on it, it should open a page on your guide with a link to the Citation Support guide on it.

Reference: WCAG 2.2, SC 3.2.5 (Level AAA): Change on Request

Do not change the default way links are styled to appear on your guide.

Users rely on consistency of style from guide to guide, so changing the style or appearance of the links, regardless of whether or not you think it's an improvement, means users need to spend extra energy noticing something new. All of this adds up from guide to guide. It's like litter, and it collectively increases the cognitive load for the user. 

This is also especially important because the CSS for our hyperlinks needs to be updated to adhere to WCAG success criteria. Our links are only styled so the link text appears in blue. This doesn't serve users who don't perceive the color blue, so the master CSS needs to style all links to be underlined as well.

Reference: WCAG 2.2, SC 1.3.3 (Level A): Sensory Characteristics