Rutgers Today | Rutgers University

Schools and Colleges | Rutgers University

Page Not Found | Rutgers University

Rutgers University History and Revolutionary Roots

Rutgers University Rankings

Facts and Figures: Rutgers By the Numbers | Rutgers University

Continuing Education | Rutgers University

Catalogs | Rutgers University

Great Things to Know About Rutgers | Rutgers University

Information for Faculty and Staff | Rutgers 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

September 2025

August 2025

Rutgers University

	Title / URL	Issues
	Rutgers Today \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/news	3
	Schools and Colleges \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/schools-and-colleges	2
	Page Not Found \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/invented-url-for-404-page	2
	Rutgers University History and Revolutionary Rootswww.rutgers.edu/about/our-revolutionary-roots-history	2
	Rutgers University Rankingswww.rutgers.edu/about/rutgers-rankings	2
	Facts and Figures: Rutgers By the Numbers \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/about/by-the-numbers	2
	Continuing Education \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/continuing-education	2
	Catalogs \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/catalogs	2
	Great Things to Know About Rutgers \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/greatthings	2
	Information for Faculty and Staff \| Rutgers Universitywww.rutgers.edu/info/faculty-staff	2

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

Rutgers University

Where this issue has occurred