Why create links?
General Linking Strategies
Link Density Issues and Tips
Tips for Writing Link Text
Links enable readers to navigate your hypertext document and jump to related topics with a single mouse click. Links are one of the great benefits of reading online because they allow readers to decide their path through online information.
Links can also lead to unending aggravation. Especially annoying are mystery links that leave readers guessing as to the nature and value of the linked material. Many readers are left wandering aimlessly like travelers without an itinerary, unable to reach any purposeful destination.
By adopting effective linking strategies and providing adequate context for links, hypertext writers can help prevent this problem of reader disorientation or "wayfinding" that so many of us experience.
Readers find two types of links in online documents:
Navigational
Navigational links connect the topics of a hypertext network and serve as the backbone of the interface between reader and computer. This "user interface" allows readers to find their way through the topics.
Associative
Associative links are intended to enrich the document's content. Links can point to content with varying degrees of relevance to the original topic. Linked content can offer a parallel theme, digress but still be related, or provide seemingly unrelated material.
Use associative links to:
Cross-reference related material
Provide detailed background information
Annotate an argument with supporting detail or a definition of
terms
Offer analogies to clarify relationships among disparate pieces
of information
Provide instructive or ironic insights
Offer footnotes or references
Allow one-click access to other documents or Web sites
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Last Updated: May 2, 2001
(c)2000 by Alysson Troffer. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute any material from this document, in whole or in part, without written permission.