• New Zealand Government Web Standards 2.0

• New Zealand Government Web Standards 1.0
  • » 1. Images
  • » 2. Colour
  • » 3. Site Markup
  • » 4. Special Purpose Documents
  • » 5. Writing Content
  • » 6. Site Content
  • » 7. Page Layout
  • » 8. Navigation
    • 8.1 Identify the target of each link
    • 8.2 External and internal links are valid
    • 8.3 Compulsory links on every web page
    • 8.4 Navigation access keys
    • Recommendation 8.1.1 Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner
    • Recommendation 8.1.2 Differing searches for skill levels if searching provided
    • Recommendation 8.1.3 Non-government links not an endorsement
  • » 9. Style Sheets
  • » 10. Dynamic Content
  • » 11. Tables
  • » 12. Frames
  • » 13. Scripting and Applets
  • » 14. Page Refreshing
  • » 15. Site Behaviour
  • » 16. Site Layout
  • » 17. Archiving
  • » 18. Quality Assurance
  • » 19. Data Tracking
  • » 20. Authentication
  • » 21. Security
  • » 22. Online Forms
  • » 23. Tendering and Contracting
  • » 30. Site Delivery
  • » 31. Operational
  • » 32. Web Strategy

8.1 Identify the target of each link

The Standard

8.1 Clearly identify the target of each link. It must be clear to the user where that link will take them. Everything that is a link is obvious as a link.

Guide to this standard

This standard is based on the Irish National Disability Authority guidelines. Ensure that the following characteristics of navigation mechanisms are more or less uniform throughout a site, or a series of related sites creates consistency:

• Visual presentation - navigation elements look similar from page to page
• Order - navigation elements are presented in a consistent sequence
• Language - terminology is consistent
• Behaviour - links and navigation controls always do the same thing when activated
• It is generally recommended against having images as links. However, this can in certain cases assist with accessibility. If this is to be done, then the image must be made "obvious as a link" and an associated equivalent text-based navigation must also be provided.

This standard covers the W3C WAI checkpoint 13.1 for NZ government agencies.

Rationale for this standard

Consistency in a web site is a key factor for usability and accessibility, and helps to create a good user experience. Consistency in navigation within the site is a key factor in the overall consistency of a web site. Having inconsistent navigation mechanisms, and navigation that does not make it clear where the user is being led, will disorient users and lead to mistakes, confusion, frustration or more simply, a poor overall user experience. Users are unlikely to willingly return to a site where they have had a previous poor user experience.

For the agency, maintenance of the site is made more difficult, which exacerbates the further degradation of usability and accessibility.