Don’t Click Here

Never link the words “click here”. Or “here” or “this”.

Instead, choose words that describe the link destination.

Why shouldn't I link “click here”?

• It slows people down.
  Meaningful link text lets people scan quickly to determine what will happen when they click on a link. Otherwise they have to do more work to look at the text around the link to figure out where it will go.
• It's confusing.
  What will I see if I click a link labeled "click here"? I have no idea. Instead, choose link text that describes the destination.
• It focuses on mechanics instead of content.
  You want readers to focus on the content of what you've written, not other things like the color of the page, the sound of the device, or the texture of the paper. Using the word "click" draws attention away from the writing.
• It confuses search engines.
  Search engines rely on meaningful link text to make sense of content on the web. Content is more likely to be found by new readers if it's linked to correctly.

Objections

• But people won't know where to click?
  It's not 1995.
• But there's no other way to say it!
  There's always a way to re-write the link. One trick is to use the title of the page you are linking. Just put the title into a sentence then link the title.
• But the link won't be as prominent.
  If you want to visually emphasize the link, either put it at the end of the sentence or after a colon. Or on the next line.

Real Examples

See Also

• W3C Tips for Webmasters
• Smashing Magainze - Why Your Links Should Never Say "Click Here"
• Mark Caron - UX designer at Red Hat
• Berkeley Web Access -"What's wrong with using "Click Here" links?
• Jeff Atwood - The Art of Hyperlinking

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