Links are a tricky thing in the new ADA-age. Traditionally, it was best-practice to launch a third-party web link or a link to a PDF document in a new window. Now, when you launch a new window when a link is clicked on, we recommend that it be noted with text on the screen so that it can be read by the screen reader. For example,
While it's always been a best-practice to launch external web links or documents in a new window, screen readers do not like them as it makes it so the user cannot go back. You will have to decide how to handle this on a case-by-case basis.
ADA Review Checklist
- Does a link that opens a document in a new window or leaves the website have the Title or Advisory Title attribute specified?
For each link that opens a new window or leaves the site, a short description of either the document or the external link should be given followed by (opens in new window).
Listed below, you will find a list of widgets that allows a link to be created and where to enter the necessary information for ADA compliance.- Text - in the Advanced tab in the Link Editor in the Advisory Title field.
- Side Navigation (Secondary Navigation) - the label of the navigation element and the target which can be found in the Advanced tab.
- Button - Title field
- Owl Carousel, Carousel Editable, Feature Slider and Slider - Alt text
- Image - Alt field
- Icon and Icon Group - Alternate Title/Label field
- Please review the following articles for more information on links: