Don't use "click here" as link text.
Don't use "click here" or other non-descriptive link text.
Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2005 Jakob Nielson
Google returns 1.3 billion search results for the phrase ('click here')
Too little of what is written on the web is written for the web. Ideally it is written by somebody who knows the subject and then rewritten (I refuse to say 'repurposed') by somebody who knows about the web. I am one of those rewriters and removing the words 'click here' is something I seem to do every day. And I am forever explaining it. And if I am ever over-ruled, it will be about this.
Committees tend to be the worst offenders. There is always somebody who insists that just because a user has
it does not necessarily follow that they know how to use a hyperlink. They will always demand the safety blanket of instructions for the link. Instructions that appear anywhere but the link.
What is interesting, is that these are often the same people who oppose technology neutral phrases for disabled people because there are hardly any of them
.
Yes, help is good. But why is a hyperlink singled out as being difficult? There is tons of literature about the fact that users do not scroll, but I have never seen instructions for a scoll bar on a site.
We do not publish books that have 'please turn over' in the corner of every page. We are not told by BBC 1 that to watch the programme on BBC 2 we need to change channel. We do not need 'click here' on a hyperlink.
Whever 'click here' is used as the link text, it needs to be accompanied by an explanation. Space is precious. Compare these examples:
Once the link describes itself, the rest becomes redundant.
This division of the link and the explanation for the link is also inelegant because in forces you into using a particular phrase when that might not be what you want to say.
A web page is still a web page if it is printed out. No, that is not a zen riddle. A book is still a book if it is a PDF. Printers and screens are just two different methods of viewing the data. So it is always a good idea to be as format neutral as possible.
This always seems to come as a surprise, but not everybody accesses the Internet in the same way. Teenagers use their mobile phones, yuppies use PDAs and there are even browsers that read text aloud. So, links are 'followed' in a variety of ways.
Since the physical workings of the browser are nothing to do with the content of the page, there is not need for the page to refer to them.
The fact remains that 1,300,000,000 pages use 'click here' and I have just made it 1,300,000,001. Why? Two big reasons are banner advertisements and standardisation.
Banner ads are everywhere. Even on this page, I admit it. More and more of them work on a 'pay-per-click' system so they scream 'click me'. The sheer volume of all this normalises it.
The same Jakon Nielson who complains about 'click here' also coined:
In other words, if everybody else does it so we should too.
In fact, when people do object to having their content rewritten, they often insist that they put it there because everybody knows that that is the way you are supposed to write it
.
This is the reason I have saved this point until last.
Do the people who are ranked fist for something worry about it?
Do they say Everybody else is lower down, surely that means that I should be lower down too!
Oddly enough, the do not think that. In fact, they are often in that position because they have paid good money for a Search Engine Optimiser. SEOs are people or companies that go through a site and make it as easy as possible for search engines to correctly index their pages.
Now, I mentioned disabled users above. Search engines are the most important users of your site- and they are blind.
Look at this example:
Dogs are very important. For more information about them click here.
Now, imagine that you are Google and that you need to know what the destination page is about. What can it tell about the page from here? Absolutely nothing.
Now look at this:
Dogs are very important.
The page is about dogs! How do we know, because the text that links to it contains the word 'dogs'. The association between that page and the search term 'dogs' is now stronger. Not much stronger, but every little helps.
But let me emphasise this. Small changes, like the removal of the words 'click here', make such an accumulated difference that people can make a living out of them. Now, wouldn't it be easier if we all just stopped doing it?
Labels: web design
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
18 Comments:
At 10 November 2010 at 08:12 ,
Anonymous said...
I truly appreciate you taking the time to post this. I really liked reading it and am looking forward to more posts from you! Keep 'em coming.
- Arely ASHMORE
At 19 February 2013 at 05:57 ,
Anonymous said...
[url=http://levitranowdirect.com/#eqhwb]cheap generic levitra[/url] - buy levitra , http://levitranowdirect.com/#nnsdl levitra 10 mg
At 3 March 2013 at 01:40 ,
Anonymous said...
[url=http://buycialispremiumpharmacy.com/#wcilz]buy cialis[/url] - generic cialis , http://buycialispremiumpharmacy.com/#ylkog buy cialis online
At 7 March 2013 at 05:52 ,
Anonymous said...
[url=http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#rxnys]viagra online without prescription[/url] - cheap generic viagra , http://viagraboutiqueone.com/#dzjqe viagra 100 mg
At 7 March 2013 at 06:50 ,
Anonymous said...
[url=http://buyonlineaccutanenow.com/#ylhou]accutane 10 mg[/url] - accutane 20 mg , http://buyonlineaccutanenow.com/#paygd accutane without prescription
At 20 March 2013 at 17:03 ,
Anonymous said...
Li, buy prozac online - fluoxetine online no prescription http://www.prozacorder365.net/, [url=http://www.prozacorder365.net/]fluoxetine online[/url]
At 22 March 2013 at 21:49 ,
Anonymous said...
4, Generic Accutane Cost - buy generic accutane no prescription http://www.benefitsofisotretinoin.net/, [url=http://www.benefitsofisotretinoin.net/]Isotretinoin No Prescription[/url]
At 6 May 2013 at 05:11 ,
Anonymous said...
[url=http://truecialishere.com/#bsfml]cheap cialis online[/url] - cialis online without prescription , http://truecialishere.com/#idmgc buy cialis 20 mg
At 30 July 2014 at 04:36 ,
Anonymous said...
burberry outlet online, ray ban sunglasses, air max, tory burch outlet, true religion, polo ralph lauren outlet, oakley sunglasses, oakley sunglasses, true religion jeans, ray ban, burberry outlet online, coach purses, longchamp outlet, coach factory, michael kors outlet, gucci outlet, louboutin, coach outlet store, coach outlet, tiffany and co, polo ralph lauren, chanel handbags, oakley sunglasses, oakley sunglasses, kate spade outlet, toms shoes, nike free, michael kors outlet, prada handbags, nike shoes, nike air max, louis vuitton outlet online, louis vuitton handbags, jordan shoes, coach factory outlet, ray ban sunglasses, oakley sunglasses, louboutin
At 8 January 2015 at 03:21 ,
Unknown said...
wholesale jordan shoes, christian louboutin shoes, Discount Louis Vuitton, ugg pas cher, uggs outlet, ugg boots, ugg australia, Bags Louis Vuitton, ugg, Christian Louboutin Daffodile, Christian Louboutin Bois Dore, cheap christian louboutin, Cheap Louis Vuitton Handbags, christian louboutin remise 50%, Discount LV Handbags, ugg soldes, uggs on sale, cheap jordans , christian louboutin, discount christian louboutin, Cheap LV Handbags, Air Jordan 11 Gamma Blue, cheap nike jordan shoes, discount nike jordans
At 20 March 2015 at 09:19 ,
Unknown said...
yao20150321
michael kors outlet
tiffany jewelry
new balance shoes
michael kors outlet
tory burch outlet
iphone 6 case
ralph lauren outlet
prada handbags
michael kors canada
true religion jeans
ralph lauren outlet
coach outlet store
hollister pas cher
air jordan shoes
toms shoes
beats by dre
cheap snapbacks
new balance 574
michael kors uk
instyler ionic styler
links of london uk
ralph lauren polo shirts
chanel bags
coach outlet
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton uk
burberry outlet
oakley sunglasses
abercrombie
instyler
karen millen dresses
polo lacoste pas cher
hollister canada
mlb jerseys
ray ban sunglasses online
At 26 June 2015 at 02:37 ,
Unknown said...
vans shoes
christian louboutin uk
oakley sunglasses canada
cheap soccer jerseys
canada goose jackets
colts jerseys
kobe bryant shoes
michael wilhoite jersey,y.a. tittle 49ers jersey,justin smith jersey,nike 49ers jersey
mlb jerseys
evening dresses outlet
surpa footwear
cheap jordans
canada goose outlet
nike air max
new york giants jerseys
the north face outlet
saints jerseys
north face outlet
mulberry outlet
dwyane wade jersey
cleveland cavaliers jersey
hermes outlet online
prada sneakers
nike air max 2014
falcons jersey
barcelona jersey
michael kors outlet uk
nike huarache
chicago bulls jersey
chanel outlet
wei20150626
At 24 September 2015 at 03:21 ,
Unknown said...
ED Hardy Outlet Michael Kors Outlet Coach Outlet Kate Spade Outlet Cheap Jordans Michael Kors Outlet Store Coach Handbags Coach Factory Oakley Sunglasses Kate Spade Outlet
Tory Burch Outlet Longchamp Handbags Louis Vuitton Outlet Michael Kors Handbags Coach Outlets Online ED Hardy Clothing Michael Kors Handbags Coach Purse Kate Spade Handbags
Air Jordan Michael Kors Store Coach Factory Outlet Coach Online Store Oakley Outlet Tory Burch Shoes Longchamp Outlet UGG Boots UGG Black Friday Moncler Black Friday
Red Bottom Shoes Christian Louboutin Shoes Moncler Jackets North Face Outlet North Face Black Friday Kate Spade Black Friday Moncler Outlet Coach Factory Coach Handbags
At 3 September 2016 at 02:31 ,
chenlili said...
oakley outlet
juicy couture
canada goose jackets
polo ralph kids
cartier watches
new england patriots jerseys
cheap toms
coach factory outlet
michael kors outlet clearance
michael kors outlet
adidas boost
gucci belts
kobe 8 shoes
cheap ray ban sunglasses
canada goose outlet
coach outlet clearance
cleveland cavaliers jerseys
true religion outlet
ugg boots
ralph lauren polo
coach outlet store online clearances
michael kors handbags
michael kors handbags
toms outlet
rolex watches
uggs on sale
adidas superstar
christian louboutin pas cher
cheap rolex watches
ugg sale
roshe run
coach outlet
true religion jeans
christian louboutin shoes
hermes birkin bag
coach outlet store online
coach factory outlet
uggs canada
cheap rolex watches
chenlili20160903
At 19 October 2016 at 07:17 ,
xumeiqing said...
20161019meiqing
nike huarache
michael kors bags
polo ralph lauren outlet online
michael kors handbags
oakley sunglasses
chaussure louboutin
nike shoes for men
pandora charms
coach factory outlet
nike free flyknit
At 31 July 2017 at 02:43 ,
raybanoutlet001 said...
ugg outlet
ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet store
michael kors handbags outlet
michael kors handbags
rolex watches
coach outlet online
ugg outlet
coach outlet
mont blanc outlet
At 27 March 2018 at 09:06 ,
KIMI HIME said...
If you have a history of illness that is difficult to recover, maybe our next article will help you to recover
Cara Menghilangkan Gatal pada Anus
Cara Mengatasi Suara Serak
At 8 June 2018 at 08:02 ,
Obat Cantengan Paling Ampuh said...
The most potent herbal medicine to cure all illness complaints :)
Pengobatan Sesak Nafas Ampuh
Obat Herbal Lupus
Pengobatan Alami Faringitis
Cara Membersihkan Usus Kotor
Cara Menyembuhkan Varikokel
Obat Anemia (Kurang Darah)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]