Links

Writing Effective Link Text

Link text must be descriptive and give the reader an idea of where they will be taken if they click on it. Poorly written link text can hurt website usability, accessibility and SEO (search engine optimization). Help users get to where they want to be faster by describing the destination.

Be descriptive - Do not use vague language such as “click here” or “learn more” because it doesn’t provide context for users and makes it more difficult for people who use assistive technology to navigate web content using links. Your links should be descriptive so that it is clear what people can expect if they click on them. Descriptive hyperlinks can also improve your content's search rankings.
Match link text to the source or keywords - Describe the destination page or file that the link goes to. Match the link text to the source page title where possible. In some instances, the source page title won’t be descriptive enough or is just too long, but the closer you are to a match, the better.
Avoid linking punctuation - Sometimes links are added at the end of a sentence with some type of punctuation. As a best practice, put the punctuation outside the linked text.
Do not use full URLs as link text - Don’t use full URLs, such as https://www.toronto.ca, or worse: https://www.toronto.ca/business-economy/business-operation-growth/business-support/. When we see https://www.toronto.ca, we see the word 'Toronto', but a screen reader is going to read the full URL letter-by-letter, including https, colon, slash and www. It also makes your copy less cluttered for users reading the text visually. It is acceptable in some situations to use a vanity URL such as toronto.ca/business.

Links to Internal Pages, Files and Applications

Use the Search function (or contrib) to link to existing pages. Using contrib links helps track backlinks to a page. This helps us keep track when pages are moved or deleted and prevents broken links.
Links to internal pages (toronto.ca pages) should always open in the same window
City applications under toronto.ca domain should open in the same window.
Non-City applications and websites should open in a new window.
Documents, such as PDFs, Word or Excel files should always open in a new window.
Always provide a brief description of what the user is downloading in the text of the link.

Social Media and Related Information Links

Social Media links should only include links to official City of Toronto social media accounts.
Up to eight Related Information links can be added.

Links to External Sources

Avoid linking to news articles, as some news outlets are subscriber-based, creating barriers for users. Such links could also seem like favouritism on the part of the City to a specific journalist or media outlet.
Avoid adding too many external links on a page. These can distract users from completing a task. External links are also hard to maintain as they can change frequently resulting in broken links.
Add links to reliable sources only such as federal or provincial government websites.
Avoid linking to community-run online resources such as Wikipedia.
Check for broken links on your pages regularly. Broken links make a frustrating user experience and can also reduce your search engine ranking.

Use Links Strategically

Be strategic about where you place a link on a page and how many links you provide. Placing too many links on a page can cause users to exit the page without reading important information or can discourage them from completing a task.

Don't bury links that are crucial to completing a task in the middle of a paragraph or at the bottom of the page. Place these links at the top of the page as a Call to Action or Highlight.

Avoid creating pages that are just lists of links as pages should provide service-oriented information and context. Since users generally have powerful search engines at their fingertips, consider what value you’re adding for the user or which Toronto-specific content you can provide.