2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context): The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text alone or from the link text together with its programmatically determined link context, except where the purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general.
SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) supports the principle of Operable because it impacts a user’s ability to navigate content by understanding what a link is for and where it will take the user. This SC affects users who are without vision, have limited language, cognitive, and learning abilities, or have limited manipulation or limited reach and strength.
The intent of this SC is to ensure users are able to determine the purpose of a link to decide if they want to follow it. The link purpose should be identifiable when it is read on its own, is read in linear fashion within the paragraph, or is read in concert with coding techniques that provide more context for the link (also known as “programmatic context”). The latter can include text or structure in the underlying code that provides more information about the link, such as a preceding heading, a title attribute that provides more information, or a table structure that provides header information. AT will read any such text provided programmatically to the user to help identify the link purpose.
Links with the same name or the same image that go to different locations need to provide distinguishing text nearby. For example, “Read more…” links can be used on a page when the information directly preceding it makes each link’s destination clear.
The exception to this requirement is when the link is intentionally ambiguous for all users.
Impact of Nonconformance with SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (Context)
| Type of Disability | Description of Impact |
|---|---|
| 302.1 Without Vision | Users who are blind cannot use a mouse to interact with electronic content and typically use an assistive technology, such as a screen reader, to get audible or other alternative output for the information represented visually. To be able to navigate the content, understand its structure and relationships, and understand the meaning of content represented in graphics and images, the content must provide textual and programmatic cues in addition to the content presented purely visually. |
| 302.2 With Limited Vision | Users with limited vision may have widely different visual perception. Individuals with limited vision may or may not use assistive technologies. Therefore, in addition to textual and programmatic cues necessary for assistive technologies, ICT must also present content consistently and predictably. Users who view content with magnifiers may not pick up alerts, warnings, or other content if such content is presented outside of a consistent and predictable navigation pattern or if the content is not itself viewable at large magnification. Content that becomes distorted when magnified can also prevent some users with limited vision from being able to understand or interact with the content. |
| 302.7 With Limited Manipulation | Some users may not be able to perform actions that require fine motor control (clicking and dragging), path dependent gestures (pattern-based passcodes), or simultaneous actions (Ctrl + Alt + Del). Providing alternative means to perform the same actions, such as entering the size specifications in an input field to resize an object or allowing sequential key entries, can enable users with limited manipulation to interact with the same content. |
| 302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength | Some users may lack sufficient strength to perform actions such as squeezing, grasping, or depressing a hardware control. Some users, including those in wheelchairs or of shorter stature, may not be able to reach controls that are placed too high or too far away from where a user would access the device controls or interface. ICT designers and developers must consider a broad range of statures, strength and dexterity limitations, and the needs of wheelchair users in order to provide interfaces that are operable with limited reach and/or strength. |
| 302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities | Some users require more time than average to process information while others may find complicated instructions difficult to follow. Furthermore, some ICT content can distract or overwhelm users, preventing them from being able to interact with or understand other ICT content. Designers and developers of ICT must consider a broad range of cognitive abilities in order to provide ICT that is simple and easy to use. |
Applicability of Success Criteria 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
| Technology | Applicability of SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) |
|---|---|
| All (Web, Software, Office documents, PDFs, Mobile Native) | The concept and general application of SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) is the same, regardless of technology. Typically, providing text that describes the link’s purpose directly in the text of the link is the most straightforward way to meet the requirements of this SC. Content in Web pages, Software, Office documents, PDFs, and Mobile Native applications might also rely on surrounding context (e.g., preceding paragraph text, table column headers, or parent items in a hierarchical list) to inform the link purpose. Web and Software applications also have some added ability to programmatically define or associate descriptive text that are not typically possible in non-Web documents. |