Provide descriptions of links
This feature should provide descriptions of links by analyzing their context on the page (for example, a link that reads as “here” may be expanded to include the text before and read “Visit our online shop here”). The descriptions could alternatively be drawn from the source of the link itself, describing its title and first few lines of text. Link “previews” may also be given by showing a thumbnail image and/or reading the initial text of the next page when the link is selected or moused over.
Discussion by Disabilities
The destination of a link can be unclear, especially for those using screen readers to rapidly jump through link options. This feature makes it easier to determine the destination of a link.
Existing Products
- Adobe InDesign
- Writing good link descriptions- Disabilities Resource Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Related Research and Papers
- Middleware to expand context and preview in hypertext – University of Manchester – Harper, S., Goble, C., Stevens, R., and Yesilda, Y. (2004)
- Signposts on the digital highway: The effect of semantic and pragmatic hyperlink previews – Alfons Maes, Arjan van Geel and Reinier Cozijn (2004)
- Web accessibility for low bandwidth input- Jennifer Mankoff, Anind Dey, Udit Batra, Melody Moore
- Web Mobility Guidelines for Visually Impaired Surfers- Simon Harper, Carole Goble, Robert Stevens
- The travails of visually impaired web travellers- Carole Goble, Simon Harper, Robert Stevens