Resolving Link Purpose Issues

What is link purpose?

Every link on a webpage should clearly describe where it will take a visitor or what action it will perform.

DubBot reports link purpose issues when link text is too vague or does not provide enough information for visitors using assistive technologies.

Why is descriptive link text important?

Many screen reader users navigate a webpage by reading a list of links rather than reading the entire page.

If several links simply say “Click Here” or “Read More,” it is difficult to determine where each link leads.

Descriptive link text helps all visitors understand what to expect before selecting a link.

In some situations, we may have multiple "Apply to UMKC" links on the same page, going to different application pages. If the link is different. Please indicate in the link text. Example: "Apply to UMKC Law".

Examples

Good Examples

• Apply to UMKC
• View the Academic Calendar
• Download the Graduate Catalog (PDF)
• Learn about Financial Aid

Avoid

• Click Here
• Read More
• Learn More
• More
• View
• Link

Whenever possible, the destination or action should be obvious from the link text alone.

Fixing link purpose issues in Cascade CMS

1. Open the affected page in Cascade CMS.
2. Locate the reported link.
3. Replace the vague link text with text that clearly describes the destination or action.
4. Save and publish the page.

Fixing link purpose issues in WordPress

1. Edit the affected page.
2. Locate the reported link.
3. Update the link text to describe its destination or purpose.
4. Update the page.

Best Practices

• Make the destination clear.
• Keep link text concise.
• Avoid repeating identical link text when links point to different destinations.
• Mention when a link downloads a document, opens another website, or performs another action.

Verify the correction

After publishing:

1. Read the link by itself.
2. Ask whether someone unfamiliar with the page would understand where the link goes.
3. Confirm the updated page has been published.
4. Wait for DubBot’s next crawl to verify the issue has been resolved.

When to contact Web Services

Most link purpose issues can be resolved by website editors. If the reported link is part of your website’s navigation, header, footer, or another shared template component, submit a Web Services support ticket.