Our Application Process, Tips and Deadlines | Lehigh University

Jobs - Build your Career at Lehigh | Lehigh University

Majors and Undergraduate Programs | Lehigh University

Students, Faculty & Staff | Lehigh University

File Not Found (404 Error Page) | Lehigh University

Faculty at Lehigh | Lehigh University

Academics | Lehigh University

University Leadership | Lehigh University

Events & Venues | Lehigh University

Maps & Directions | Lehigh University

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

December 2025

November 2025

Lehigh University

Title / URL	Issues
Our Application Process, Tips and Deadlines \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/admissions/apply	17
Jobs - Build your Career at Lehigh \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/about/jobs	17
Majors and Undergraduate Programs \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/academics/undergraduate-studies/degree-programs	17
Students, Faculty & Staff \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/about/the-perch	17
File Not Found (404 Error Page) \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/invented-url-for-404-page	17
Faculty at Lehigh \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/academics/faculty	17
Academics \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/academics	17
University Leadership \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/about/university-leadership	17
Events & Venues \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/about/events-venues	17
Maps & Directions \| Lehigh Universitywww2.lehigh.edu/about/maps-directions	17

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

Lehigh University

Where this issue has occurred