Missing Links Accessible Name Check

Description

The “Links Accessible Name Check” evaluates whether there is any anchor (<a>) element without an accessible name.

Example outcome

I found 1 link without accessible name.

Impact

• Visual Impairments: Screen readers rely on accessible names to announce what a link does. If a link is unnamed, users hear things like “link” with no context, making navigation frustrating or unusable.
• Motor Impairments: Tabbing through links without labels provides no context, which makes keyboard navigation disorienting and inefficient.
• Cognitive Disabilities: Users with memory, attention, or processing limitations benefit from clearly labeled actions. Undescriptive or missing labels increase cognitive load and confusion.

Fixes

To address missing links accessible name:

1. Identify the links with no accessible name.
2. Add a descriptive link text.
3. If it is an icon-only link, add an aria label to it.
4. If it has an image inside the link, use alternative text or aria label.

Resources

• WCAG 2.2: Understanding Success Criterion 4.1.2
• WCAG 2.2 Techniques: Technique G91: Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link
• ACT Rules: Link has non-empty accessible name
• WebAIM: Links and Hypertext