Accessibility guide
"Click here" and other link text that fails
Facts checked Oct 8, 2026
Link text like "click here" or "read more" tells screen reader users nothing when they hear a list of links. Make a link's words say where it goes.
Check the official rules. Rules and dates change, so check them with the official sources before you rely on them: ADA.gov (the US Department of Justice), the W3C's WCAG pages and Section508.gov. PageKiwi helps you find problems and get closer to meeting the rules. It can't promise a website meets them, it isn't legal advice, and we can't take responsibility for decisions made from it.
Why "click here" fails
- Screen reader users often pull up a list of every link on a page and pick from it. A list of "click here, click here, read more, here" tells them nothing.
- Everyone skims. Eyes jump to the underlined words. "Trash pickup dates" answers the question at a glance; "click here" makes people read the sentence around it.
- "Click" assumes a mouse. People tap, press Enter or use their voice.
The rule in WCAG (2.4.4 Link Purpose, Level A, so part of the WCAG 2.1 AA that the ADA Title II rule points to) lets the sentence around a link explain it. Link words that make sense on their own are still the safer habit: they work in a list of links, in search results and when someone skims.
Examples from a town website
| Link text | Instead of | Write | The link's words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Click here | To see the trash schedule, click here. | See the trash and recycling schedule. | trash and recycling schedule |
| Here | Agendas are posted here. | Agendas are on the meetings and agendas page. | meetings and agendas page |
| Read more | Main Street paving starts Monday. Read more | Main Street paving starts Monday | the headline itself |
| Download | Download | Building permit application (PDF, 2 pages) | the whole line |
| A web address | www.yourtown.gov/files/agenda_final_v3.pdf | Planning board agenda (PDF) | the whole line |
| Same words | Three links that all say "Agenda" | Select board agenda, Planning board agenda, Library trustees agenda | each board's name and "agenda" |
The habits behind them:
- Link the name of the place it goes, usually the title of that page or document.
- Put the important words first: "Dog licenses: renew online", not "Online renewal for dog licenses".
- Say when a link opens a file, such as a PDF or a Word document, so people aren't surprised.
- Two links with the same words should go to the same place.
- Keep it short: a few words, not the whole sentence.
- Show a web address only where people need to type it, such as on a printed flyer.
Change a link's words in WordPress
For a link in a post or page, in the block editor (the steps match WordPress 7.1):
- Open the post or page and click the link that says "click here". A small box pops up with the link's address and buttons to edit, remove or copy it. Copy the address.
- Rewrite the sentence so it names the place, such as "See the trash and recycling schedule."
- Select the new words ("trash and recycling schedule"), press Ctrl + K (⌘ + K on a Mac), or the Link button in the block's toolbar, paste the address and press Enter.
- Delete the old "click here", and its link goes with it.
- Click Save (or Update).
- A button (the Buttons block): click into the button and type the new words. The link stays.
- A linked picture: the picture's alt text is the link's words, so write where it goes, such as "Fall festival photo gallery" (alt text in WordPress).
- The classic editor (one big text box): select the words and use the link button, or the same Ctrl + K.
"Read more" on every news item
If every post in your news list ends with the same "Read more" or "Continue reading" link, that comes from your theme, not from your posts. Changing it is a job for your web person, using the message below.
Send this to your web person
Not sure what to say? Copy this into an email, add your website's address, and send it.
Hi, On our website, [your website address], the news list (and [other pages]) shows a "Read more" link after every post, so a screen reader user hears a list of identical "Read more" links. Could you change the theme so each one says which post it opens, either by making the post's title the link, or by adding the title to the link's words (visible, or as text for screen readers only)? Thanks
Find the vague links on your site
- Accessibility Check reads one page of your live site, including links your theme adds, and lists links whose whole text is "click here", "here", "read more", "more", "learn more", "this", "link", "this link", "find out more" or "details".
- PageKiwi for WordPress, our free plugin, looks through your published posts and pages for the same phrases and links to each one, so you can fix them in the editor.
Both match those exact phrases. Neither can judge words like "Download", "PDF" or a bare web address, so read through your own links for those.
Clear link text is part of making your website accessible. Website accessibility: where to start, with the tools that help and what the law asks.