“Click here.”
You have probably seen those two words thousands of times online. You might even have them scattered throughout your own website.
For years, “click here” was a common way to tell website visitors that a piece of text was a link. It became so familiar that many of us still use it without giving it much thought.
But websites have changed. The devices we use to visit them have changed. More importantly, our understanding of accessibility and good website usability has improved.
Today, there are better ways to write links.
At Traverse Web, we encourage clients to use link text that tells visitors where they are going or what they can expect to find when they get there. It is a small change that can make a website easier to use for everyone.
The Problem With “Click Here”
The biggest problem is simple.
“Click here” doesn’t tell you anything.
Imagine you are quickly scanning a website and all you see is click here?
Where do they go?
You cannot know without stopping and reading the text surrounding each link.
Now compare that with:
View Our Web Design Services
Read Our Privacy Policy
Download the Membership Application
Even without the surrounding sentences, you have a pretty good idea what will happen when you select each link.
That is what good link text should do.
People Scan Websites
Most people do not carefully read every word on a website from top to bottom.
They scan.
They look at headings, bold text, photos, buttons, and links while trying to find the information they need.
Links naturally stand out from the surrounding text. That makes them useful landmarks as someone moves through a page.
If every link says “click here,” those landmarks aren’t very helpful.
For example:
Not as helpful:
For information about our website design services, click here.
Better:
Learn more about our Website Design Services.
The second version makes the important information easy to spot. A visitor scanning the page can immediately tell what the link is about.
It also saves them a little mental work. They don’t have to read backward through the sentence to figure out where “click here” is going to take them.
Good website design is often about removing these small points of friction.
“Click Here” Can Create Accessibility Problems
This is where descriptive links become much more than a writing preference.
They’re also an accessibility issue.
People with visual impairments may use screen readers to navigate websites. A screen reader reads website content aloud and can allow someone to move from link to link rather than listening to every word on the page.
Imagine what happens when several links are labeled “click here.”
The person may hear “Click here.” Repeatedly
That provides almost no useful information about where those links go.
Descriptive links are much more helpful:
“Website Hosting and Support.”
Now the visitor has useful information and can decide which link they want without having to work through all of the surrounding content.
Accessibility is about making websites usable by as many people as possible. Writing meaningful link text is one relatively simple way to make that experience better.
Not Everyone Is Clicking
There is another problem with the phrase that is easy to overlook.
Not everyone actually clicks a link.
Someone using a desktop computer and mouse probably does. Someone visiting your website on a phone or tablet taps the link.
Other visitors may navigate websites with a keyboard, voice controls, or assistive technology.
So why tell everyone to “click”?
The important thing is not how someone activates the link. The important thing is where the link takes them.
Instead of:
Click here to contact us.
Try:
Contact Traverse Web to discuss your website.
Instead of:
For more information, click here.
Try:
Learn more about our website services.
Focus on the destination or the action, not the physical act of getting there.
Better Links Also Help Search Engines
There is an additional benefit to descriptive link text.
Search engines use links as one of many signals to understand the content and relationships between pages on a website.
The words used in a link are called anchor text. That is simply the visible text that someone selects to follow a link.
“Click here” provides very little information.
“Traverse City website design services” provides considerably more context about the page being linked to.
This does not mean every link should be stuffed with search terms. In fact, that can make your writing sound awkward and unnatural.
Write for people first.
When a link clearly and naturally describes its destination, it can be helpful to visitors while also giving search engines useful context.
A Quick Word About Internal Links
Descriptive link text becomes especially useful when you are linking between pages on your own website.
These are called internal links.
For example, a blog post might naturally point readers toward one of your services, another related article, your frequently asked questions, or your contact page.
In addition, internal links can help visitors discover useful information and move through your website more easily. They also help search engines understand how the pages on your website relate to one another.
Of course, there is much more to internal linking than that. However, we will save that discussion for another Traverse Web blog.
For now, the important point is this: if you are going to link to another page on your website, give that link a meaningful name.
What Should You Write Instead of “Click Here”?
There is no single phrase you need to use.
That is actually the point.
Your link should describe the specific destination or action.
Instead of:
Click here to see our services.
Use:
Explore Our Website Services
Instead of:
To read our privacy policy, click here.
Use:
Read Our Privacy Policy
Instead of:
Download the form here.
Use:
Download the Membership Application
Instead of:
For our hours, click here.
Use:
View Our Current Hours
Instead of:
Click here for more information.
Tell people what that information is:
Learn More About Website Hosting
The exact wording will depend on the page, a useful test is to look at the linked words by themselves.
Would someone understand where the link goes without reading the rest of the sentence?
If the answer is yes, then you are probably on the right track.
Small Details Make Websites Easier to Use
No one is going to look at your website and say, “Wow, what impressive anchor text.”
That is perfectly fine.
Good usability often goes unnoticed.
Visitors simply find what they need, understand where they are going, and move through the website without having to think too hard about it.
Replacing vague “click here” links with descriptive link text is one of those small improvements. It helps people scanning your pages and makes your website friendlier to people using screen readers and other assistive technology. It works naturally across phones, tablets, and computers and can even give search engines better information about your content.
Most importantly, it makes your website a little easier to use.
And at Traverse Web, we believe those little details add up to a much better website.
If you would like help designing, building, hosting, or improving your website, we are here to help