One of the types of links is link text. We often find it in an article. A good developer will write a nice good label for all link texts.
Your users want to get more information about what you write. You provide a link that supports what you say or gives your users more knowledge. Your job is to make sure that the label is relevant and clear.
How do you write good labels for link texts?
- Be descriptive. Do not use phrases like "click here" to describe a link. If your link points to Google, you write "Google." If you have a page to list all your articles, make the title of the article a link instead of having a "learn more" button on each list item.
- Be natural. Do not write awkward labels. Use your common sense. One strategy to check its naturalness is to insert the links after you have written the entire article. The first example is the previous point when I mention Google. Another example is if you want to insert a link to one of The A11Y Project, you can describe the link in short phrases inside a sentence: making accessible links can be challenging.
- Be nice. Do not lie. I do not know why some developers sent me to the Rickroll song on their personal websites. Be honest. But context matters. I am now writing this to you on how to write good labels—not on joking with people.
GOV.UK is the greatest government website that I have ever seen. You can learn from it how to write great labels for link texts. If you visit the Christmas Bonus page, you will notice a list of links: "overview," "what you'll get," "how to claim," and "further information." The developers use plain language. They do not use complicated language. I am not a United Kingdom (UK) citizen, but I can expect what kind of information I will get after I access the link. If you can write labels that make your users predict the right information, you are doing great.
If you can write accessible labels for link texts, you are on the right path to becoming a great web developer.