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:
- Correct: "View the online course curriculum"
- Incorrect: "View the online course curriculum"
- 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.
Links in the Editor #
Adding a Link #
Linking to a URL #
- Select the word or phrase that you want to link.
- Click the
Insert/edit link icon.
- 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 #
- Select the word or phrase that you want to link.
- Click the
Insert/edit link icon.
- This will present the Select link box. Under the list of pages (You may have to scroll.), click the Select media button.
- Locate and click on the file that you want to link to, then click Submit.
- Click Submit again to add the link.
Removing a Link #
- Select the word or phrase that you want to remove the link from.
- Click the
Remove link icon.
When Should a Link Open in a New Tab or Window? #
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.
Making a Link Open in a New Tab/Window #
- Select the word or phrase that you want to link or that is already linked.
- Click the
Insert/edit link icon.
- 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.)