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Links

Use links to point users to relevant content and trusted external resources. Link specific buttons can be found in the Formatting Tool Bar.

Guidelines #

  • Navigation links should be clear and concise.
  • Ensure that links succinctly and accurately describe the content that they are linking to.
  • If linking to anything other than another web page, such as a PDF file or audio file, make sure the link indicates what will happen when the user clicks the link. Example link text: "Download Course Outline (PDF)".
  • A link that points out to any external website (including other WVU websites) from your website should open in a new tab or window. Pages in your website (internal pages), including PDF files and other files, should open in the same tab or window.
  • Avoid using some of the following phrases for button text:
    • "Continue"
    • "Learn more"
    • "Read more"
    • "View link"
  • Examples of better phrases for button text:
    • "Continue onto step 2"
    • "Read more about our research"
    • "Learn about our scholarships"
    • "View the alumni page"
  • If a link comes at the end of a sentence or before a comma, do not link the punctuation mark.
  • Do not include preceding articles (a, an, the, our) when you link text. Example:
  • Do not use all caps. Doing so may cause some screen readers and assistive technology to read out each individual letter of your words, instead of the full words themselves.
  • Leave the "Query String" property blank.

Linking to a URL #

  1. Select the word or phrase that you want to link.
  2. Click the  Insert/edit link icon.
  3. You can choose an internal page from the list of pages at the bottom or you can type a URL into the “Link to document” field.

Linking to Media #

  1. Select the word or phrase that you want to link.
  2. Click the  Insert/edit link icon.
  3. This will present the Select link box. Under the list of pages (You may have to scroll.), click the Select media button.
  4. Locate and click on the file that you want to link to, then click Submit.
  5. Click Submit again to add the link.
  1. Select the word or phrase that you want to remove the link from.
  2. Click the  Remove link icon.

A link that points out to any external website from your website (including other WVU websites) should open in a new tab or window. Pages in your website (Internal pages), including PDF files and other files, should open in the same tab or window.

  1. Select the word or phrase that you want to link or that is already linked.
  2. Click the  Insert/edit link icon.
  3. Click the checkbox under "Target".

If you have any questions or issues with this please email CMS Desk.

Accessibility #

  • Ensure links succinctly and accurately describe the content they are linking to.
  • Links to external websites should always open in a new window or tab.
  • Do not use all caps.
  • Do not include preceding articles (a, an, the, our).
  • Do not include punctuation (periods, commas, exclamation points, question marks, etc.)