Co-op start-up programmes | Co-operatives UK

Support for your co‑op | Co-operatives UK

News | Co-operatives UK

Search the site

Convert to a co-op | Co-operatives UK

Start a new co-op | Co-operatives UK

Ownership Hub | Co-operatives UK

Log in

Blog | Co-operatives UK

Discover co-ops: Free webinars | Co-operatives UK

Two adjacent links should not point to the same destination. You almost always want to combine the 
two links.

For example, it is quite common to link an image and text together like this:

```html
<a href="news.html">
    <img src="photo.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="news.html">
    News
</a>
``` 

These adjacent links should be combined like so:

```html
<a href="news.html">
    <img src="photo.jpg" alt="" />
    News
</a>
``` 

Links to `#` are ignored, as these are nearly always placeholders for JavaScript, e.g.:

```html
<a href="#" onclick="approve()">
    OK
</a>
<a href="#" onclick="reject()">
    Cancel
</a>
```

# Justification

Many users of assistive technology are only able to experience content sequentially - that is, they must
step through each part of the page, one part at a time. Often this is a slow process, potentially 
hampered by a physical impediment.

Stepping through redundant links is time consuming; for example users of a screen reader must 
hear each link read aloud in turn. 

This also simplifies your code. 

# Methodology

1. Find all links (`<a>` tags) on the page.
2. Ignore links pointing to `#`, as these are usually placeholders for JavaScript.
3. Flag links which are (a) separated only by whitespace and (b) which point to the 
   same absolute URL.  

# Learn more

Read about [Technique H2](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/H2) on how to combine
an adjacent image and texts links.

duplicate-adjacent-link

January 2026

December 2025

Co-operatives UK

Title / URL	Issues
Co-op start-up programmes \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/support	57
Support for your co‑op \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/support-your-co-op	57
News \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/news	57
Search the sitewww.uk.coop/search	57
Convert to a co-op \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/convert	57
Start a new co-op \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/start	57
Ownership Hub \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/support/ownership-hub	57
Log inwww.uk.coop/user/login	57
Blog \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/blog	57
Discover co-ops: Free webinars \| Co-operatives UKwww.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/discover-co-ops	57

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

Co-operatives UK

Where this issue has occurred