Event Calendar | South Dakota State University

Awards and Rankings | South Dakota State University

Academics | South Dakota State University

Admissions | South Dakota State University

Degree Finder | South Dakota State University

Hilton M. Briggs Library | South Dakota State University

University Wellbeing | South Dakota State University

Faculty and Staff Directory | South Dakota State University

Family Weekend | South Dakota State University

Community | South Dakota State 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

South Dakota State University

	Title / URL	Issues
	Event Calendar \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/event-calendar	27
	Awards and Rankings \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/about-us/awards-rankings	2
	Academics \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/academics	2
	Admissions \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/admissions	2
	Degree Finder \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/degree-explorer	2
	Hilton M. Briggs Library \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/hilton-m-briggs-library	1
	University Wellbeing \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/university-wellbeing	1
	Faculty and Staff Directory \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/directory	1
	Family Weekend \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/family-weekend	1
	Community \| South Dakota State Universitywww.sdstate.edu/community	1

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

South Dakota State University

Where this issue has occurred