Link text must be unique

Rule ID Link 2
Definition Links with different hrefs must have unique accessible names or descriptions.
Purpose
  • Screen reader programs provide commands that list all links on a page by their accessible names. When links are taken out of their page context and placed in the context of such a list, links with the same accessible name appear to refer to the same informational resource.
  • When links that point to different URLs have the same accessible name or description, screen reader users may be unable to determine which link among them references the information they are seeking.
Required No for HTML5 and ARIA Techniques ruleset mapping
WCAG Success Criteria

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A, Primary Success Criterion)

Rule Category Links
Scope Element
Target Resources a and area elements and elements with role="link"
  • [role=link]
  • a
  • area
Techniques
  • The link text (i.e. its accessible name and/or description) should uniquely describe the target of a link.
  • Use the aria-label, aria-labelledby or title attribute to provide a more descriptive accessible name when the text content of the link cannot be changed.
  • Use aria-describedby to provide additional information for links that share the same accessible name but have different contexts to allow users to differentiate among them.
Informational Links