MISSOURI ONLINE RECOMMENDS
To provide an inclusive learning experience for all, Missouri Online recommends that hyperlinks are meaningful. This complies with the University of Missouri System 600.090 Digital Accessibility Policy, and the following criteria are required in the 5 Pillars Quality Review (items 34 and 36).
What this means
This means ensuring that users know exactly where a link will take them; for example, using the meaningful hyperlink Missouri Online Events instead of https://teaching.missouri.edu/events or “Click here to view the Missouri Online Events calendar.”
Why this matters
When you paste a URL into a document or page, it is usually rendered automatically as a clickable link. Although this is convenient, it poses two difficulties for anyone with a screen reader. First, many URLs are long and full of strings of letters and numbers that are meaningful for a database but not for human understanding.
Also, because users with screen readers often use the tab key to get through a page or document, links need to make sense out of context, which makes link text with vague words such as “click here,” “here” or “more” confusing.
General tips
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Link text should be long enough to convey meaning but no longer. Eliminate unnecessary or redundant words from the linked text.
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Omit the word “link” from the descriptive text, as a screen reader will indicate this to the user.
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If you must include a URL in an online document, disable the hyperlink and preface the URL with descriptive text: "Find out more at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov."
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Avoid underlined text in your document, as it can be mistaken for a hyperlink, which will frustrate students, who attempt to click or tap and will assume they have encountered a broken link when nothing happens.
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In Microsoft, Google, and Canvas, you can use a keyboard shortcut to add descriptive links. Type your descriptive link text and highlight it with your cursor. Then, on your keyboard, select CTRL + K (on a PC) or CMD + K (on a Mac). This will bring up a dialog box; paste your URL into that box.
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A quick response (QR) code can be an accessible way to provide links, but add alternate text to the image of the code.
About URLs in citations
One concern that many academics have about descriptive link text is that all major style guides require the use of URLs in citations. However, a few of these guides recognize a distinction between content intended for online delivery and content intended to be read in hard copy.
If the document is likely to be read only online, the APA Style Blog states that descriptive text is acceptable: “Users who develop online-only resources should adapt APA Style to fit their needs.”
The MLA Style Center states, "When deciding whether and how to include a URL in a works-cited-list entry, you should balance the goals of testifying and retracing. A good litmus test might be this: if your works-cited-list entry adequately achieves the primary goal of vouching for your work, then ask yourself whether providing a URL will help readers wishing to retrace your footsteps." Given this statement, it would be acceptable to use descriptive link text in Canvas, as the reader can easily click the link to retrieve the source.
For documents likely to be printed, APA permits a shortened URL (e.g., using a service such as Bit.ly or TinyURL) or the digital object identifier (DOI), though the Chicago Manual of Style recommends against this. The MLA Style Center and CMoS Shop Talk give guidance on truncating a URL for brevity while still giving the reader enough information to locate the source.
Disable the hyperlink for any URL (even truncated) or DOI you include.
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Learn how to create descriptive hyperlinks:
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