All WCAG criteria
WCAG 2.4.4 · OperableLevel A

2.4.4Link Purpose (In Context)

The purpose of each link must be determinable from the link text alone OR the link text plus the immediate context.

Common failures

Patterns that fail this criterion.

  • 01"Click here", "Read more", "Learn more" repeated across the page
  • 02Identical link text pointing to different URLs
  • 03Image-only links with empty alt
How to test

Testing approach: manual.

Manual — extract all links to a flat list; confirm each one's purpose is clear out of context.

axe-core rules

link-name
How to fix

Remediation steps.

  1. 1

    Descriptive link text

    "Read our pricing plans" beats "Read more". "Download Q3 report PDF" beats "Download".

  2. 2

    aria-label for visual-only context

    If "Read more" is visually OK in context (e.g. blog card), use `aria-label="Read more about WCAG 2.2"` for screen readers.

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All 50 WCAG 2.1 Level A + AA success criteria explained.

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