USC LibGuides Committee Toolkit

Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that everyone (people with disabilities and without) can use them. Web accessibility means that people should be able to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web as well as contribute to the Web.

Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, and visual.

Source: Introduction to Web Accessibility, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative

When you create guides remember to write in plain language. Plain language (also called plain writing or plain English) is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it.

Source: What is plain language? 

Add alt text to your image in the Image Properties window. Use complete descriptions for the image. For example, “Blue periodontology textbook” or “Map of Africa with malaria prevalence indicated in red”.

Descriptive link text is a technique for writing the text of webpages. A hyperlink or link is a bit of code inserted into a website. The code underlines and colors the characters (letters, numbers, diacritical marks) on a page, and also transforms the characters into a link to another web page. Descriptive linking asks you to consider the characters you are writing on the page and turning into a hyperlink.

Descriptive links helps users who are using screenreading software. Each type of screenreading software works a little differently, so these are rough guidelines ensure the majority of users can use your page.

Examples of non-descriptive links:

• Writing the entire URL as the letters visible on the webpage: "Visit the Library website at https://libraries.usc.edu for more information." Some screenreaders will read the whole text: this sentence would be spoken aloud, with each letter spelled out.
• Writing the words Click here, Click, Download, Get it, Go Here, PDF, etc., without any further descriptive words in the hyperlinked text. The sentence "View more works by Darwin by searching the library catalog (click here), downloading this research article (PDF), or contacting Sarah, the curator." is easily understood by some readers, but not easily read by screenreaders.Some screenreaders only read link text (so the person would hear aloud the words click here, PDF, Sarah, and no other words).

2 ways to make Descriptive Links:

1. Hide the URL inside a full sentence explaining the purpose:  "Visit the library website for more information."

2. Include both the item and the method of accessing in the hyperlinked characters: "Find more works by Darwin by searching the library catalog, downloading this PDF about Darwin's work, or contacting Sarah, the curator."  [There are many more ways to re-write and re-phrase this sentence; this is one example.]

How to find non-descriptive links:

This is quite difficult as there is no tool that can always find these. Each individual who owns or edits a guide is responsible for making sure that guide includes descriptive links.

• Reading your own guides cover-to-cover is the best way to find non-descriptive links.
• It can be useful to trade a similar-sized guide with a colleague and you review theirs, they review yours.
• Search Google using a site limiter. If one were to copy/paste this exact string into Google, "click here" site:libguides.usc.edu, it would generate results from the libguides.usc.edu site that use the phrase "click here." Some of these may already be descriptive links, but some may not. Click on each result and read the page to determine. Repeating this search with other terms commonly co-occuring with nondescriptive links (the letters PDF, the words download, click, view, etc.) will find more potentially undescriptive links.

Is everybody really using these?

Yes, descriptive links are the standard for good web practices, in all areas. You will see this writing strategy used on most websites, so there are many examples you can borrow from when adding this to your guides. The good news is, descriptive linking is how many USC librarians have always been building their guides. That being said, as of the time this idea is introduced to the Libraries in November 2024, there are many non-descriptive links in many guides. Guides created after this date should have an easier time adhering to this guideline. Guides created before November 2024 should be reviewed and updated by spring 2025 to ensure use of descriptive links.