Home>Section 1 Main Page>Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks |
"Avoid Hyperlinks that Don't Give an Idea of Where They Go. People don't like to click on hyperlinks without having some idea of where they'll end up. This is especially true of people using dial-up connections (most of them!) because they may have to wait a while to find out they didn't want to go there, which is very annoying." (1)
"Don't Overdo Hyperlinks. Overloading a page with hyperlinks can be overwhelming. Try to plan your site so you don't have a page with many, many hyperlinks." (1)
"Keep the Hyperlinks Short. Don't make the text of a hyperlink a whole sentence or very long phrase. Instead, use a sentence that gives a small, clearly defined area to click on for the hyperlink. For example: "To view a full-scale map of the world and see all the airline routes, click here." Make the word "here" the hyperlink." (1)
"Don't change hyperlink colors. Most people are use to seeing the default hyperlink colors, so changing the hyperlink colors can be confusing. Unfortunately, many of the FrontPage themes break this recommendation, so you may want to consider customizing the themes to set the hyperlink color back to the normal blue." (1)
"The oldest web design rule is to avoid using 'Click Here' as the anchor text for a hypertext link. There are two reasons for this rule. First, only mouse-using visitors do in fact click, whereas disabled users or users with a touch screen or other alternative device don't click. Second, the words 'Click' and 'Here' are hardly information-carrying and, as such, should not be used as a design element that attracts the user's attention. Instead of saying
For background information on the blue-nosed honeybee, click here.
It is better to say
We have additional information about the blue-nosed honeybee." (3, pg. 55)
Another hyperlink issue that is present on an amazing number of sites are hyperlinks on pages that link to that same page. When you put your navigation structure in place, it often makes sense to keep the layout of the navigation buttons etc. the same from page to page, for consistency. For example, to get your users used to your site's navigation as soon as they view your home page, you may have "Home Page" at the top of your navigation buttons right there on the home page. BUT DON'T MAKE THAT LINK ACTIVE ON THE HOME PAGE! Clicking on a hyperlink that just re-loads the same page a user was on is frustrating and a waste of user time.
Example 1- less desirable Hyperlinks