General Linking Strategies

Links stand out by virtue of being underlined and displayed in colour, so think of them as emphasised words. The scanning eye notices only two or three words at a time, emphasised or not. Make the link text short and informative. Be sure that the links on a page collectively offer context about what the page contains, not just where each link leads.

Avoid Over Linking

Be careful about filling text with too many distracting links. Too many links dilute the message on a page and can confuse readers with irrelevant digressions. You need to guide the reader and filter their choices.

Links also disrupt the narrative flow of text by inviting the reader to go elsewhere. Unless that is your goal, link sparingly. Too many links can also involve too much maintenance and they are hard to read on a cluttered page.

Avoid Interrupting Readers

If you do not want to interrupt the reader at a certain point, do not put a link there. Ask yourself: Is the information at the link destination relevant to the audience, purpose, and content of the document?

• Do Not Link the Same Text Repeatedly
• Do not repeat a link wherever the link text occurs. Once per topic is enough.
• Do not link to an online feedback mechanism more than once on a page.
• Avoid making explicit cross-references if they create redundancy.

Minimise the Number of Clicks

Do not add a link if you can succinctly present the information in the current topic.

Limit Internal Linking

• If the page is short, do not link to other destinations in the same page.
• When a table, figure, or example immediately follows a text reference to it, do not include a link.

Prevent Reader Disorientation

• Reserve link formatting for links only.
• Label navigation icons
• Provide sufficient context
• Warn readers about unexpected link destinations.

Include Links that Answer Reader’s Questions

Write link text so that it corresponds to reader’s search tasks.

Use Links to Make Text Seem Shorter

Your online document might be lengthy. With links, your text can appear shorter to readers without sacrificing content.

• Link to in-depth information.
• Link to, rather than duplicate, information.
• Link to background information.

Provide Links in a List

Try to use a list of links rather than embedding links in the text. Searching a list of links reduces the mental processing demands of online reading and link interpretation.

Carefully construct the link text, and annotate each link, when necessary, to ensure that readers can decide which links to follow.

Place Links at the End of a Topic

To encourage the reader to stay with a topic, place links at the end of a topic if possible. Readers might read all, or at least some of the content, before moving on.

Provide URLs Only When Needed

Use URLs in the following instances.

• When readers are likely to print the page and then retype the URL on the page into a browser.
• When the online document is also available in print
• When the goal is to raise awareness of a web site. Reserve this usage for short URLs only.

Make references to URLs as simple and direct as possible.

Test the Validity of Links

Test links to ensure they lead to where they promise. Test internal and external links.