Links need a meaningful description

PDF/UA check LINK_DESCRIPTION · Links · severity Medium · PDF/UA 8.9.2.4.2 Link

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Why it matters#

Links should have descriptive text so users know where they lead. Without descriptions, screen readers may only announce the URL, leaving users unable to determine if the link is relevant.

What you will see#

A link has no Contents description, so a screen reader may read out the raw URL instead of the destination.

How to fix#

Add a Contents entry to the link annotation dictionary describing the link's target (e.g. 'EqualWeb accessibility guide'). This matters most when the visible text is a raw URL or a generic phrase like 'click here'.

Step-by-step guide#

1. Prioritize the flagged links whose visible text is a raw URL or a generic phrase like click here - these gain the most; ISO 14289-2 section 8.9.2.4.2 says link annotations should (not shall) include a Contents entry, so this is a low-severity improvement.
2. Where you control the source document, first fix the visible link text itself: replace bare URLs and click here with words naming the destination, then re-export the tagged PDF. Descriptive visible text is the primary aid; Contents enriches it.
3. Add a Contents entry to each remaining link annotation dictionary describing the target, e.g. EqualWeb accessibility guide. Acrobat Pro's link Properties dialog has no field for this, so either use the Acrobat-native Alt alternative in the next step or regenerate the PDF from a source application whose exporter writes link Contents entries.
4. Acrobat-native alternative: EQChecker also passes a link whose enclosing structure element (or an ancestor) has a non-empty Alt. In the Accessibility tags panel open the Link tag, Properties > Tag > Alternate Text, and enter the description; Alt replaces the subtree for assistive technology, so include the visible link text in it (section 8.2.5.20 permits Alt describing both content and link).
5. Write the description as the destination or purpose, concise, without a link to prefix - screen readers already announce the link role.
6. If both are present - a Contents entry on the annotation and an Alt on the directly enclosing element - make them identical, since section 8.9.4.2 requires the two values to match.

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan: LINK_DESCRIPTION should report clean. A screen reader should announce a human-readable description for each link rather than only the URI.

Note: Because the standard uses should, absence of Contents is not a PDF/UA-2 violation by itself; EQChecker reports it at low severity (2). Contents matters most when links are accessed out of context (links list navigation) or when the target is not human-readable (section 8.9.2.4.2 notes).

WCAG success criteria#

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) — Level A#

The purpose of each link should be clear from its text (or its programmatically-associated context).

Understanding 2.4.4

Standards#

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA WCAG A EN 301 549