Web developers at Brown University's Institute for Elementary and Secondary Education offer useful advice for creating links from the text on each page:

• Clearly identify the target (destination) of each link.
• Link text should be make sense when read out of context -- either on its own or as part of a sequence of links.
• Link text should also be short.
• The words "click here" should never be a link.

Those at the Instructional Technology Program at the University of Texas agree.  They advise against using uncertain link descriptors, such as Click here; rather you should provide descriptive links that will help your user predict the content of the linked page.

Compare these examples to see which makes sense out of context:
Click here to email the webmaster.
Email the webmaster.

External Links

Web developers at the University of California's Electronic Educational Environment offer additional suggestions regarding external links, those that will take the user to an outside web site.  "When external links appear within a page, the student may click away and never come back. Refer to external links, but keep them from interrupting and distracting by placing them on a 'links' page."

Another helpful practice is to set external links to open in a new window.  When the user has finished browsing the external link, they can returned quickly and easily to the last page viewed at your site by closing the external link window.

Questions? Comments?  Do I practice what I preach? Contact me at afensie@attbi.com.
Organizing Your Web: A Guide to Creating Intuitive Navigation Structure was created by Anne Fensie for IT522 at Bridgewater State College.
Copyright 2002
Last updated October 03, 2006