In plain English
The Level A rule (2.4.4) lets a link lean on its sentence for meaning. This AAA rule says the link text on its own should tell you where it goes. That matters because screen-reader users often jump through a page by pulling up a bare list of every link, with no surrounding words to explain them.
So “Read more” or “Click here” repeated ten times becomes ten identical, meaningless entries. “Read more about our return policy” works on its own.
Who this is for
- Screen-reader users navigating by an out-of-context list of links.
- Everyone skimming, who reads link text first and the sentence second.
How to check and fix it yourself
Scan your page for generic link text and rewrite it to describe its destination.
If the visible text must stay short, add an aria-label with the full purpose.
<!-- weak: only makes sense in its sentence -->
<a href="/returns">Read more</a>
<!-- strong: clear on its own -->
<a href="/returns">Read our return policy</a>
<!-- short visible text, full purpose for assistive tech -->
<a href="/returns" aria-label="Read our return policy">Read more</a>Where we can help
We pull the list of every link the way a screen reader does and flag the ones that are meaningless out of context. Vague “click here” links are a recurring item on the common failures list.