• Success Criterion 2.4.4
  • Conformance level A

PDF Link With No Indication of What It Actually Leads To

2.4.4 — Link Purpose (In Context)

Scenario

Setting

A food-delivery app's order-tracking screen

What’s wrong

PDF links with no indication in name/context while purpose depends on knowing it (best practice — failure when destination/purpose genuinely undeterminable).

Example 

<a href="/receipts/a83f9d21.pdf">a83f9d21.pdf</a>

Why it matters

A customer tracking an order sees a meaningless filename and can't tell if the link opens a receipt, an invoice, or something else entirely.

How to test

Check a PDF link's visible text and surrounding context: if neither indicates the destination or purpose, it fails when that information is genuinely needed.

How to fix

When a file's purpose is genuinely unclear from its name, state its purpose directly in the link text.

<a href="/receipts/a83f9d21.pdf">View order receipt (PDF)</a>

Outcome

A customer clicks View order receipt knowing exactly what will open.

Who is affected

Screen reader and low-vision users can't determine a PDF's purpose from an auto-generated filename alone.

Learn more

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