Link Purpose Clear
Link text MUST be intelligible out of context — a screen-reader user listing all links on a page MUST be able to determine each link's destination from the text alone.…
$ aoe install @community/rule-link-purpose-clearProjection
Always in _index.xml · the agent never has to ask for this.
LinkPurposeClear [rule] v1.0.0
Link text MUST be intelligible out of context — a screen-reader user listing all links on a page MUST be able to determine each link's destination from the text alone. Generic text ('click here', 'read more', 'here', 'this') is forbidden.
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as adjacent / supporting.
LinkPurposeClear [rule] v1.0.0
Link text MUST be intelligible out of context — a screen-reader user listing all links on a page MUST be able to determine each link's destination from the text alone. Generic text ('click here', 'read more', 'here', 'this') is forbidden.
Checks
- @community/check-link-purpose-clear
Applies To
@community/type-html-artifact
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Severity
high
Severity Combination
link text is generic ('click here', 'read more', 'here') → BLOCK (SC 2.4.4)
link text is unique but ambiguous out of context → WARN
link text describes destination unambiguously → PASS
Failure Mode
Screen-reader users using the 'list links' feature hear ['click here', 'click here', 'read more', 'click here'] — every link is identical. Sighted users with cognitive impairment skim past unhelpful generic text. WCAG SC 2.4.4 fails.
Remediation
- Rewrite
<a>click here</a> to read the reportasRead <a>the Q4 report</a>. - If layout requires a generic CTA, supplement with
aria-label:<a aria-label='Read the Q4 financial report'>Read more</a>. - For 'See all' / 'View more' buttons that follow a heading, use
aria-labelledby='section-heading'to inherit context. - Avoid trailing icons-as-link without text — use @community/rule-aria-label-required.
Exceptions
- Case: Visually-paired card
- Allowed When: An entire card is a single
<a>with a heading and image inside; the accessible name is the heading. Verify with screen reader.
- Case: Pagination
- Allowed When:
Previous/Nextare unambiguous in pagination context but should still receivearia-label='Previous page'for verbosity.
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as a focal / direct hit.
LinkPurposeClear [rule] v1.0.0
Link text MUST be intelligible out of context — a screen-reader user listing all links on a page MUST be able to determine each link's destination from the text alone. Generic text ('click here', 'read more', 'here', 'this') is forbidden.
Checks
- @community/check-link-purpose-clear
Applies To
@community/type-html-artifact
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Severity
high
Severity Combination
link text is generic ('click here', 'read more', 'here') → BLOCK (SC 2.4.4)
link text is unique but ambiguous out of context → WARN
link text describes destination unambiguously → PASS
Failure Mode
Screen-reader users using the 'list links' feature hear ['click here', 'click here', 'read more', 'click here'] — every link is identical. Sighted users with cognitive impairment skim past unhelpful generic text. WCAG SC 2.4.4 fails.
Remediation
- Rewrite
<a>click here</a> to read the reportasRead <a>the Q4 report</a>. - If layout requires a generic CTA, supplement with
aria-label:<a aria-label='Read the Q4 financial report'>Read more</a>. - For 'See all' / 'View more' buttons that follow a heading, use
aria-labelledby='section-heading'to inherit context. - Avoid trailing icons-as-link without text — use @community/rule-aria-label-required.
Exceptions
- Case: Visually-paired card
- Allowed When: An entire card is a single
<a>with a heading and image inside; the accessible name is the heading. Verify with screen reader.
- Case: Pagination
- Allowed When:
Previous/Nextare unambiguous in pagination context but should still receivearia-label='Previous page'for verbosity.
Relations
related: [@community/rule-aria-label-required, @community/rule-heading-hierarchy, @w3c/source-wcag-22] see-also: [@community/check-link-purpose-clear] validates-with: [@w3c/source-wcag-22]
Applies To
@community/type-html-artifact
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Severity
high
Validates With
- @w3c/source-wcag-22
Severity Combination
link text is generic ('click here', 'read more', 'here') → BLOCK (SC 2.4.4)
link text is unique but ambiguous out of context → WARN
link text describes destination unambiguously → PASS
Failure Mode
Screen-reader users using the 'list links' feature hear ['click here', 'click here', 'read more', 'click here'] — every link is identical. Sighted users with cognitive impairment skim past unhelpful generic text. WCAG SC 2.4.4 fails.
Remediation
- Rewrite
<a>click here</a> to read the reportasRead <a>the Q4 report</a>. - If layout requires a generic CTA, supplement with
aria-label:<a aria-label='Read the Q4 financial report'>Read more</a>. - For 'See all' / 'View more' buttons that follow a heading, use
aria-labelledby='section-heading'to inherit context. - Avoid trailing icons-as-link without text — use @community/rule-aria-label-required.
Exceptions
- Case: Visually-paired card
- Allowed When: An entire card is a single
<a>with a heading and image inside; the accessible name is the heading. Verify with screen reader.
- Case: Pagination
- Allowed When:
Previous/Nextare unambiguous in pagination context but should still receivearia-label='Previous page'for verbosity.
See Also
- @community/check-link-purpose-clear
Source
aoe-engine/examples/frontend-design/primes/compiled/@community/rule-link-purpose-clear/atom.yaml