• Success Criterion 2.4.4
  • Conformance level A
  • W3C reference F63

Link’s Purpose Explained Only in Unrelated Page Text

2.4.4 — Link Purpose (In Context)

Scenario

Setting

A government tax-filing portal

What’s wrong

The text explaining where a link goes is somewhere unrelated on the page — a screen reader user reading just the link (and its immediate context) can't tell its purpose.

Example 

<p>Your 2025 tax transcript is ready for review under the Documents tab.</p>
...
<aside>
  <a href="/download/transcript.pdf">Download</a>
</aside>

Why it matters

A screen reader user browsing by links hears only Download with no nearby text saying it's their tax transcript.

How to test

Pull up a screen reader's link list: if the link's purpose is explained only in unrelated text elsewhere on the page (not the link text or its immediate context), it fails.

How to fix

Purpose must be determinable from the link text and its immediate context, not text elsewhere on the page.

<aside>
  <a href="/download/transcript.pdf">Download 2025 tax transcript (PDF)</a>
</aside>

Outcome

A taxpayer scanning links by screen reader knows exactly what Download 2025 tax transcript will give them.

Who is affected

Screen reader users navigating by link or heading list can't tell what this download actually contains.

Learn more

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