Real Estate Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Communications Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Certificates & Programs | UCLA Extension

UCLA Extension - Continuing Education Courses & Certificates

International Students | UCLA Extension

Computer Science Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Legal Programs Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Engineering Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Accounting & Finance Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

Education Courses & Certificates | UCLA Extension

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

October 2025

September 2025

University of California Los Angeles Extension

Title / URL	Issues
Real Estate Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/real-estate	29
Communications Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/communications	29
Certificates & Programs \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/certificates	29
UCLA Extension - Continuing Education Courses & Certificateswww.uclaextension.edu/	29
International Students \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/international-students	29
Computer Science Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/computer-science	29
Legal Programs Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/legal-programs	29
Engineering Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/engineering	29
Accounting & Finance Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/accounting-finance	29
Education Courses & Certificates \| UCLA Extensionwww.uclaextension.edu/education	29

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

University of California Los Angeles Extension

Where this issue has occurred