Links
Hyperlinks are the essence of the web, allowing content to be connected to other content, or to email addresses so people can get in touch. Used well, they help people find what they want. But if used badly they can make a website unusable.
Check your links
Always check any links you supply to make sure they work properly. As well as getting to a website, check that the link:
- goes to the correct website and page
- hasn't changed address by being redirected (such as the new Office of Science & Innovation pages)
- isn't pointing to a more restricted website than where it will appear (or users will only see an "Error 403.6").
- doesn't include spaces or other illegal characters where there aren't any (eg at the end) .
Don't say "click here"
When quoting a link in a document never say "click here for more information" and turn 'click here' into a hyperlink. Similarly, you shouldn't say "click on the following link" and then quote the address.
Instead, phrase the sentence so that you use a clear description of the page the link will go to (the name of the organisation if another website, or the title of the page), and quote the web address [in square brackets] immediately after for the Web Team to set up.
What you should say
"Further information is available on the British Antarctic Survey website [ http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/ ]."
Once production work is done this will appear as:
"Further information is available on the British Antarctic Survey website."
Likewise, please quote email addresses in full after each person's name [in square brackets].
Does it matter?
Yes! Screen-reader software and other assistive technology to help people with sight or mobility impairments may make browsing a website quicker by grouping hyperlinks together. The visitor will be presented with something like this:
With no context they become completely useless! So please help by wording your links with meaningful descriptions.
Another reason to do this benefits all web users. Hyperlinks are one of the things people look at when scanning a page quickly. If link text is vague, cryptic or generic it makes scanning much harder. The user has to stop and read the context of the link to work out where it goes. This reduces the site's usability as well as its accessibility, and will deter people from revisiting your page.
Related and external links
Long documents should have a bulleted list at the start set up as a series of bookmarks to "anchors" at headings/subheadings through the page. Also place anchors at points where you may wish to make direct reference from other documents. The Web Team can then ensure the necessary code is in place.
Although hyperlinks are very useful, adding too many can can make text hard to read, or to spot what's a link and what isn't.
Instead keep links that don't have to be embedded in the text listed separately at the end of the page. The Web Team will then set them up as either related links (those to other pages on the NERC site) or external links (to any other site, including research centres).
Please note that "Related" links should be to pages that are not shown in the site navigation when on that page. They shouldn't repeat a link you can already see!
Avoid putting external links within the main text of the page. Having a clear label of "related" or "external" helps users to know when they are about to leave our site.
Printed or downloadable documents
You may wish to include hyperlinks from within a printed letter, document or publication, or from within a document that might be put on the website for users to download, to other documents. Whilst this is technically possible, it has several disadvantages for users:
- If documents need to be reorganised later, it is not possible to arrange an automatic redirection for these links (only for links to web pages).
- Users may wish to view other related pages or documents, but the site navigation will not be visible.
- Links will not be checked by the Web Team checks. They are the responsibility of the document supplier.
So instead, please follow these recommendations:
- Check the links! Don't assume they will work just because they are in a document already.
- Only link directly to web pages. Don't link to documents (Word, PDF etc) at all.
- Is the link needed at all? Would users find it more helpful to know that there is a section on the website with all the advice and document downloads they need? (eg You could link to the Fellowship forms page, rather than linking to each relevant document.)
- Check with the Web Team if you are unsure what to do.
Points to check
- External links - supply the full address including "http://"
- Related links - miss off "http://www.nerc.ac.uk"
- Beware of rogue spaces - especially at the end
- That links are correct (especially email addresses)
- Related links aren't repeats of navigation links on that page
- Link to one more general page rather than "deep-link" to specific pages
- Don't link to documents
- Put bookmark anchors by important content