Example of link list with 'click here' repeated endlessly
The words 'click here' have grown to cover the web. The phrase is used to indicate links as calls to action. While some claim that visitors key in on those two words, using 'click here' and its siblings 'Read More' and 'Continue' can create accessibility and usability issues. Here's why 'Click Here' might not be the best choice.
Usability experts report that users LOVE scanning websites. As they scan, they're constantly searching for keywords related to what they desire to find. Why not highlight your keywords by making them links, instead of highlighting the relatively meaningless words 'click here' or 'read now'? This makes scanning your website easier and leaves visitors more satisfied, since they don't have to dig though regular text to find out where the good links are.
The number one results for 'click here' in the Google search engine is Adobe Acrobat Reader. Yet the words 'click here' do not appear a single time on the Acrobat Reader page. Why is this?
Every time you link to a page, Search Engines take note what words were used in that link. And apparently people have linked to Adobe Acrobat Reader millions of times using the 'click here' text. The result, Adobe misses out on organic SEO every time someone uses 'click here' for the link instead of a more useful 'Download Adobe Reader'. Now, maybe Adobe doesn't lose sleep over the missed opportunity, but SEO is something we're constantly trying to build in to our websites. Why waste the opportunity by using 'click here' text?
Example of link list with 'click here' repeated endlessly
While visual users scan the page with their eyes for links, visually impaired visitors use a screen reader to list out the links on the current page. This list of links doesn't reference the surrounding text, so the paragraph:
To download a copy of this document, click here. To download harmful spyware, click here.
will have the following result:
2 Links: click here click here
This leaves the user with no hint about what each website contains and, in this rare case, could harm their computer if they choose the wrong link. Here's a better example of the previous paragraph:
Download a copy of "Is 'Click Here' the Best Choice?". Make sure not to download harmful spyware though.
These links are much more meaningful:
2 Links: Download a copy of "Is 'Click Here' the Best Choice?" harmful spyware
Now the user is able to make an informed decision, although they'll have a harder time explaining their actions to the IT guy.
Do you have to be told to push the gas pedal down every time you want to go somewhere in your car? Not since you were 15, no. Why tell users what they already know? If something looks like a link, it will most likely act like a link. As long as you create clickable links, you don't need to tell someone where to click.
Notice how the good links still have action items, yet they tell you more than just 'click here'. They give the user real information that is easibly scannable, because the links tell you what's important, instead of just being placeholders for the words "Click here".
Be sure not to replace 'click here' with an equally poor substitute. 'Read more' and 'continue' pose the same problems as 'click here'. The key is to create a link that is descriptive of where it's going.
"That's great, but I don't make these decisions at my work."
Stuck in a company or with a client that won't put "Click here" to rest? The article "Click here? No thanks!" offers a solution for developers to keep the links accessible even if visually "Click here" are the only words linked.
This article written by Kevin Lamping. Feel free to contact Kevin with any questions or comments.
Is 'Click Here' the Best Choice? by Kevin Lamping is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
