The No “Click Here” Link Challenge 2026

THANK YOU for your participation! See results below.

In honor of the 15th Annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) Thursday – May 21, the State of Missouri – ITSD and Missouri Assistive Technology are hosting a special accessibility-focused challenge to raise awareness of accessibility, with emphasis on:

  • Cognitive accessibility, use of plain language
  • Vision accessibility, users of narration (screen reader) software
  • Mobile accessibility
Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Participation Dates: Monday, May 18-Thursday, May 21

Who can participate? Those who update content for agency websites, including documents. This can include those who submit updates through Web team tickets.

Accessibility Champion

CHALLENGE GOAL

GOAL: Reduce number of “Click Here” links by 50% (2,697)

CHALLENGE RESULTS: 73% REDUCTION!

Total Number of “Click Here” Links 5/12/26
0
Total Number of “Click Here” Links 5/21/26
0

Descriptive links – what are they and why do they matter?

As outlined in  WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context, using descriptive link text tells users where the link leads without needing extra explanation so that users can decide if they want to follow the link.

Imagine using a screen reader, trying to navigate a website where every link says “click here” or “read more” without any indication of what you’ll find on the other side. It’s like trying to choose a door without knowing what’s behind it.

Screen reader list of click here links.

Non-descriptive link text examples

Below are examples of vague link text found on agency websites:

  • “click here”
  • “here”
  • “more here”
  • “more information”
  • “learn more”
  • “click here for more details”
  • “website”
  • “details here”
  • “info”
  • “information”
  • “this link”
  • “link here”
  • “download”
  • “form”
  • “document”
  • “more”
  • “link”
  • “this form”

Descriptive link text examples

  • Not:  Learn more,
  • Instead: Learn more about document accessibility training.
  • Not: To register for the Digital Accessibility Summit,  click here.
  • Instead: Register for the Digital Accessibility Summit. 
  • Not: Click here to see a map of our service areas.
  • Instead: View the service area map.
  • Not: Link to checklist.
  • Instead: Download the Word document accessibility checklist.
  • If links are formatted in a bulleted list, words like “visit”, “review” and “learn more about” may not be necessary to add to descriptive text since they may not be formatted in complete sentences.  
  • In some cases, page content is programmatically created (by the web team) and link text is not directly editable (like a list of blog posts or meeting minutes/agendas). In this case, an “aria-label” may be used in order to create descriptive links for tools like screen readers. Report these types of fixes through a web team helpdesk ticket
  • All web team sites should automatically add PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Archive icons to the end of links. If they do not, report through a web team helpdesk ticket. 


Best Practice: Avoid incorporating “click here” as part of a descriptive text link

Sometimes, “click here” will be added to accessible descriptive link text. Consider removing these phrases to simplify as time permits. These are lower priority best practice fixes.


How to locate “click here” links on agency websites

  1. Siteimprove “click here” report: Accessibility → Accessibility Policies → Vague “click here” and related links report
    SiteImprove reports do not include “click here” iink text in documents
  2. Search feature on websites: If site isn’t included in SiteImprove, search for the terms listed above, wrapping them in quotes (“click here”)
    These will also search within documents. 
  • If a site is not listed below, it means it did not detect any click here type links.
  • Additional SiteImprove reports: There are additional reports called Vague links of “PDF, “Word”, etc., Vague links of “Minutes”, “Agenda” and https:// link text that are worth reviewing as well (not specifically part of this challenge).These types of links need to be made more descriptive/unique.

Congratulations to the following sites with zero “click here” links (5/21/26)

  1. https://acct.oa.mo.gov
  2. https://agriculture.mo.gov 
  3. https://apps.dese.mo.gov/WebLogin/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMCDS%2fVisualizations.aspx%3fid%3d22&id=22
  4. https://atc.dps.mo.gov
  5. https://budplan.oa.mo.gov/
  6. https://capitol.mo.gov
  7. https://cu.mo.gov/
  8. https://cybersecurity.mo.gov
  9. http://data.mo.gov/
  10. https://dfs.dps.mo.gov
  11. https://dbtmo.org
  12. https://distributedteams.mo.gov/
  13. https://dmhmolearning.com/profile/
  14. https://dnr.mo.gov
  15. https://doc.mo.gov/
  16. https://dor.mo.gov/
  17. https://earlyconnections.mo.gov
  18. https://efis.psc.mo.gov
  19. https://epcmissouri.org/
  20. https://farmsafety.mo.gov/
  21. https://genserv.oa.mo.gov
  22. https://itsd.oa.mo.gov
  23. https://jobs.mo.gov
  24. https://journeytocollege.mo.gov
  25. https://kchospitalbuild.mo.gov/
  26. https://labor.mo.gov/
  27. https://mansion.mo.gov
  28. https://mcdhh.mo.gov
  29. https://mcp.dps.mo.gov/
  30. https://mcpsc.mo.gov
  31. https://mec.mo.gov
  32. https://mgc.dps.mo.gov/
  33. https://mgisac.org/
  34. https://military.ded.mo.gov/
  35. https://missouribuys.mo.gov/ 
  36. https://missourieconomy.org/
  37. https://missourigrownusa.com/
  38. https://missouriresources.mo.gov/
  39. https://mocap.mo.gov
  40. https://moments.mo.gov
  41. https://mopds.org/v7/trainings/search 
  42. https://moshowmehope.org/
  43. https://msb.dese.mo.gov
  44. https://msd.dese.mo.gov
  45. https://msecc.mo.gov
  46. https://mvc.dps.mo.gov
  47. https://mydss.mo.gov/
  48. https://oacares.mo.gov/
  49. https://oca.mo.gov/
  50. https://opc.mo.gov/
  51. https://pdmp.mo.gov/
  52. https://pers.oa.mo.gov
  53. https://psc.mo.gov/
  54. https://purch.oa.mo.gov/
  55. https://recovery.mo.gov/
  56. https://samii.mo.gov/
  57. https://sema.dps.mo.gov/
  58. https://seow.dmh.mo.gov/
  59. https://showmeexcellence.mo.gov/
  60. https://spexternal.modot.mo.gov/SitePages/Home.aspx
  61. https://stc.mo.gov
  62. https://systemofcare.mo.gov
  63. https://taxcreditinfo.mo.gov/
  64. https://tel-linkportal.health.mo.gov/
  65. https://training.oa.mo.gov
  66. https://traveler.modot.org/map/index.html


Number of Click Here Links By Agency (in Siteimprove)

Website Name Number of "Click Here" occurrences (5/12/26)Number of "Click Here" occurrences (5/18/26)
AG - https://missouriwine.org3715196
DED - https://ded.mo.gov450227
DNR - MO State Parks - https://mostateparks.com282281
Health (Dev) - https://health-dev.mo.gov/277
MO DOT - https://www.modot.org/102
Department of Education -https://dese.mo.gov/921
Attorney General - https://ago.mo.gov/31
Professional Registration - https://pr.mo.gov/27
MO State Highway Patrol - https://statepatrol.dps.mo.gov/26
Citizen Portal - https://my.mo.gov/gsp18
State Treasurer - https://treasurer.mo.gov13
LIfelaunch (DMH) - https://lifelaunchmo.org/10
Capitol Commission - https://capitol.mo.gov100
Corrections -https://doc.mo.gov/90
OA - Office of Equal Opportunity - https://oeo.mo.gov91
MO Dept. of Agriculture - https://agriculture.mo.gov80
OA - Children's Trust Fund - https://ctf4kids.org8
MO Lottery - http://www.molottery.com7
Missouri - Office of Administration - https://oa.mo.gov/62
AG - MO State Fair - https://www.mostatefair.com/6
OA - Document Solutions - https://documentsolutions.mo.gov6
Social Services - https://dss.mo.gov/5
Mental Health - https://dmh.mo.gov/5
Department of Social Services - https://mydss.mo.gov/50
MO Mental Health Foundation - https://www.missourimhf.org/5
Public Safety - https://dps.mo.gov/43
Revenue - https://dor.mo.gov/40
Ethics Commission - https://mec.mo.gov40
Health - Donate Life - https://donatelifemissouri.org/4
DOT Engineering Policy Guide - https://epg.modot.org/index.php/Main_Page43
Fire Safety - https://dfs.dps.mo.gov30
SAMII - https://samii.mo.gov/30
MO Lottery - Bets Off - https://888betsoff.org3
Disability Portal - https://disability.mo.gov3
Governor - https://gov.mo.gov30
DNR - https://dnr.mo.gov30
Early Connections - https://earlyconnections.mo.gov30
DOT Save MO Lives - https://www.savemolives.com/mcrs3
OA - Census - https://census.mo.gov3
Jobs- https://jobs.mo.gov20
Mental Health First Aid - http://mhfamissouri.org/2
Meric - https://www.missourieconomy.org/20
SEMA - https://sema.dps.mo.gov/20
Veterans Commission - https://mvc.dps.mo.gov20
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - https://mcdhh.mo.gov20
Department of Finance - https://finance.mo.gov/2
mo.gov - https://mo.gov/2
Commerce and Insurance - https://dci.mo.gov2
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - https://missouri988.org/2
Labor - https://labor.mo.gov/10
Credit Unions - https://cu.mo.gov/10
AHC - https://ahc.mo.gov1
OA - Show Me 250 - https://showme250.mo.gov1
Department of Insurance - https://insurance.mo.gov/1
OA - Movers - https://movers.mo.gov1
DESE - MO Childcare System - https://childcare.mo.gov/s/1
MO Lottery - Retailer - https://retailer.molottery.com1
Ag Market News - https://agmarketnews.mo.gov/1
OA - Buy Missouri - https://buymissouri.net/1
OA - Safe Sleep - https://safesleep.mo.gov1
Assistive Technology - https://at.mo.gov10
Alcohol and Tobacco Control - https://atc.dps.mo.gov10
MoGov Challenge (DMH) - https://mogovchallenge.com/1
OA - SHRMC - https://shrmc.mo.gov/1
Time to Act Missouri- https://time2actmissouri.com1
OA - General Services - https://genserv.oa.mo.gov10
Mo Benefits - https://mobenefits.mo.gov/1
MO Careers - https://mocareers.mo.gov/hiretrue/mo/mocareers/index.html1
Gov - First Lady - https://firstlady.mo.gov1
DSS Manuals - https://dssmanuals.mo.gov1
OA-ITSD - https://itsd.oa.mo.gov10
OA - Budget & Planning - https://budplan.oa.mo.gov/10