Of all the many topics we discuss on IoIC web writing courses, there is one that will guarantee a lively debate - should we use ‘click here’ as a link phrase – or not? The answer is not quite so cut and dried as some might want to make out and I fervently believe that we shouldn’t insist on an outright ban on click here. Malcolm Davison looks at the pros and the cons:
 In favour of ‘click here’
- Easily understood - There is no question of what you click on to get further information.
- Better accessibility for some - For the very young, the very old, those with dyslexia, those with cognitive disabilities and the computer illiterate - being told what to click on will ensure that the navigation is used correctly. Whereas drop down menus, mouse-over navigation, highlighted words may not evoke the correct, if any, response.
- Progressive step - Particularly for online shopping, or completion of forms phrases such as ‘click here to proceed to checkout’, ‘click here to buy this’ clearly direct the reader to the next stage in the process. This might also be reinforced with ‘click to step 2’ and indicating that it is, say, a four part process.
- Call to action - Take for example ‘click now for our free quote’ - in advertising parlance this is a ‘call to action’. The advertising industry has used this persuasive technique for years. Marketing and advertising students are taught that every advert should have a ‘call to action’ at the end of the copy to drive the reader to follow through. Tell people what to do and, like sheep, they will do as they are told – and that’s a fact.
Some webmasters know that if you use a ‘click here’ link once on a page it will result in a higher click through rate, than not using this phrase.
So, for example, if you have an intranet and are anxious to get readers to check out the new terms for the company’s pension – then try using ‘Click here to read about how the changes will affect you’.
But only use this once – or this trick won’t work. You can copy test the wording of links – one week with – and one week without - and compare the click through rates on the server statistics.
Other call to action words may be preferable though. Consider ‘View example’, ‘Sign up now’, ‘Take a look!’ ‘Try for free today’, and there are plenty more that are more descriptive than ‘Click here’.
- Banner research confirmation - Research into web banner advertising shows that the single most effective way to boost response is to use the words "click here" on the ad. In part this may help the reader recognise that the graphic is in fact an advert, but the inclusion of the words are also a call to action and statistically proven to be an irresistible persuader.
Against ‘click here’
- Waste of space - When it comes to the web we have to be very frugal with our wording, and not clutter the screen with unnecessary words. I show one screen in our training taken from a government website that shows a long list of downloadable documents – each line is accompanied by ‘click here’.
How much less cluttered it would look if the unnecessary wording was stripped away and just the name of the report was hyperlinked.
- Text-to-speech - Just consider how annoying it would be for those relying on text-to-speech (TTS) software when it mechanically and synthetically reads out ‘click here’ over and over again because of its repetition on a web page.
- Waste of time - People are busy and simply don’t have the time to read unnecessary wording.
- Patronising - Most internet users are web navigation literate, they know that if they don’t click they will get nowhere on a website. They instantly recognise that words that are underscored and perhaps appear in blue are navigation links, so ‘click here’ is superfluous.
- Hyperlinks aid scanning - To speed the process of taking in a page of content at a glance – web writers use headlines, subheads, numbered lists, bulleting and hyperlink navigation. These are collectively known as ‘microcontent’ and greatly contribute to rapid text comprehension.
The eye will fly between blue underscored hyperlinks and the reader will gain some understanding of what is on the page. Using ‘click here’ embedded with other linked words significantly slows this scanning process.
- Search engine placement - Replacing ‘click here for more information’ with relevant keywords relating to the content such as ‘content management’, ‘staff appraisals’ will help the process of search engine optimisation.
By using the keywords – they will be automatically indexed by the search engines. This will lead to more page visits as a result of the reader typing in these keywords and being offered your page to view.
- Not everyone can click - Some users with repetitive strain injury prefer keyboard equivalents to using a mouse. There are disabled users who rely on ‘assistive technology’ that responds to verbal responses, or perhaps a touch screen, a pressure switch triggered by blowing into a tube, or microswitches that respond to available muscle action.
But, whatever the technology used to interact with the browser, disabled users live in the real and more able world – and are very familiar with the phrase ‘click here’ and so are unlikely to be offended by the use of this term.
- Link accessibility - Some visually impaired web users have speech browsers that have a facility to collate links on a page so the user can tab through them. This helps them quickly assess what a page is all about. But this also means that links will be read out of context. So it is important that the link wording is self-evident on its own. Whereas ‘click here’, ‘next, ‘back’, ‘top’ are all meaningless without further explanation.
It is also important that each navigation phrase only points to a single location, and that the same phrase is not used several times for different linked material. According to joeblade.com, even the W3C web accessibility guidelines get this one wrong and this helps them to fail achieving AAA status.
- Click area too small - A common navigational mistake made on websites is not providing a large enough area for the mouse to click on. Expecting people to precisely place a mouse on just the two words ‘click here’ requires precise manual dexterity and that can be difficult for some people.
It’s usually easily resolved by hyperlinking a thumbnail image, the headline or the supporting linking text – and this makes websites much easier to use for everybody.
So what do we do?
I have seen many company web style guides and met webmasters who insist that web writers must never use ‘click here’ but I think a more flexible approach is called for.
There are times when ‘click here’ can and should be used for best effect. But I would say that we should avoid its repetitive use and pay more careful attention to the wording of our links.
For example, instead of:
- For a biography of our chief executive, click here
- For an overview of our financial performance, click here
- For an insight into the structure of the group, click here
You might consider something more persuasive on the lines of:
- Read our new chief executive’s impressive track record
- Learn about our strong financial performance
- Check out the international scale of the group
It’s a common misconception that writing for the web is just about tighter writing, but ‘click here’ is just one of the many navigation and usability issues discussed as part of IoIC’s ‘Web writign and editing’ course. |
