Link
Link
Even though it is always best to use standard HTML links whenever possible, on rare occasions it can be acceptable to create ARIA links. The ARIA links need to act exactly like standard links.
Turn on a screen reader to experience this example in action.
Example 1: Regular HTML link (no JavaScript or ARIA)
DequeUniversity.com
Example 2: ARIA link (<span role="link">), opening in a new window/tab
Deque.com 
Example 3: ARIA image link (<img role="link">), opening in a new window/tab
Initial HTML Markup
Example 1: Regular HTML link (no JavaScript or ARIA)
<a class="deque-link" href="/">DequeUniversity.com</a>
Example 2: ARIA link (<span role="link">), opening in a new window/tab
<span role="link" id="deque-link-aria" class="deque-link deque-link-aria" data-href="http://www.deque.com" data-target="_blank">Deque.com <img src="/assets/images/template/courses2014/new-window.png" alt="opens in a new window" class="new_window" width="13" height="13"></span>
Example 3: ARIA image link (<img role="link">), opening in a new window/tab
<img role="link" id="deque-link-aria-image" class="deque-link deque-link-aria" src="assets/js/patterns/images/DequeLogo.png" width="150" style="background: #555555" data-href="https://www.dequeuniversity.com" data-target="_blank" alt="Deque University">JavaScript
Required: The complete JavaScript file (for all patterns in the library): deque-patterns.min.js
Key parts of the JavaScript file
Note: The code below is functional only in the context of the complete JavaScript file.
In the @link section:
function initializeLink(element) {
if (element.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'a') {
return;
}
var targetURL;
element.classList.add('deque');
if (element.getAttribute('href')) {
targetURL = element.getAttribute('href');
} else if (element.getAttribute('data-href')) {
targetURL = element.getAttribute('data-href');
} else {
return;
}
function navigateToLink(e) {
e.preventDefault();
e.stopPropagation();
var dataTarget = element.getAttribute('data-target');
if (dataTarget) {
window.open(targetURL, dataTarget);
} else {
window.location.href = targetURL;
}
}
element.setAttribute('tabindex', 0);
element.setAttribute('role', 'link');
element.addEventListener('click', navigateToLink);
(0, _keyboardUtils.onElementEnter)(element, navigateToLink);
(0, _keyboardUtils.onElementF10)(element, function (e) {
if (e.shiftKey) {
if (window.CustomEvent) {
try {
element.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('contextmenu'));
} catch (e) {
return;
}
} else if (document.createEvent) {
var ev = document.createEvent('HTMLEvents');
ev.initEvent('contextmenu', true, false);
element.dispatchEvent(ev);
} else {
// Internet Explorer
element.fireEvent('oncontextmenu');
}
}
});
}
function initializeAllLinks() {
var links = document.querySelectorAll('.deque-link-aria');
for (var i = 0; i < links.length; i++) {
initializeLink(links[i]);
}
}
initializeAllLinks();
In the @keyboardUtils section:
var KEYS = exports.KEYS = {
BACKSPACE: 8,
TAB: 9,
ENTER: 13,
SHIFT: 16,
CTRL: 17,
ALT: 18,
ESCAPE: 27,
SPACE: 32,
LEFT: 37,
RIGHT: 39,
UP: 38,
DOWN: 40,
F10: 121,
HOME: 36,
END: 35,
PAGE_UP: 33,
PAGE_DOWN: 34
};
function bindElementToEventValue(element, eventName, testValue, handler) {
function localHandler(e) {
if (e.which === testValue) {
handler(e);
}
}
element.addEventListener(eventName, localHandler);
return function () {
element.removeEventListener(eventName, localHandler);
};
}
function bindElementToKeypressValue(element, testValue, handler) {
return bindElementToEventValue(element, 'keypress', testValue, handler);
}
function bindElementToKeydownValue(element, testValue, handler) {
return bindElementToEventValue(element, 'keydown', testValue, handler);
}
function onElementEnter(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.ENTER, handler);
}
function onElementEscape(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.ESCAPE, handler);
}
function onElementSpace(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeypressValue(element, KEYS.SPACE, handler);
}
function onElementLeft(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.LEFT, handler);
}
function onElementRight(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.RIGHT, handler);
}
function onElementUp(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.UP, handler);
}
function onElementDown(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.DOWN, handler);
}
function onElementHome(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.HOME, handler);
}
function onElementEnd(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.END, handler);
}
function onElementPageUp(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.PAGE_UP, handler);
}
function onElementPageDown(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.PAGE_DOWN, handler);
}
function onElementF10(element, handler) {
return bindElementToKeydownValue(element, KEYS.F10, handler);
}
function isAlphaNumeric(charCode) {
return charCode >= 48 && charCode <= 90 /* numbers, uppercase letters */
|| charCode >= 97 && charCode <= 122 /* lowercase letters */;
}
function onElementCharacter(element, handler) {
function localHandler(e) {
var charCode = e.which;
if (isAlphaNumeric(charCode)) {
handler(e);
}
}
element.addEventListener('keypress', localHandler);
return function () {
element.removeEventListener('keypress', localHandler);
};
}
function trapEnter(element) {
onElementEnter(element, function (e) {
e.stopPropagation();
e.preventDefault();
});
}
Note: No additional JavaScript initialization code is necessary for this pattern. All elements with class="deque-link-aria" will be initialized automatically by the external JavaScript file.
CSS
Required: The complete CSS file (for all patterns in the library): deque-patterns.min.css
Key styles within the CSS file (other styles may also be necessary):
.deque[role='link'].deque-link,
a.deque-link {
color: #006cc1;
text-decoration: underline;
}
.deque[role='link'].deque-link:hover,
a.deque-link:hover {
cursor: pointer;
color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);
text-decoration: none;
outline: 1px dashed #000000;
}
.deque[role='link'].deque-link:focus,
a.deque-link:focus {
outline: 1px dashed #000000;
color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);
text-decoration: none;
}
.deque[role='link'].deque-link.active,
a.deque-link.active {
color: #000000;
}
.deque[role='link'].deque-link:visited,
a.deque-link:visited {
color: #5C2E91;
}
Implementation Instructions
Implementing the Link pattern is done to ensure non-anchor links are accessible, whether a regular, span, or image link.
Step 1: Add Dependencies
Add deque-patterns.min.css in the <head> of the document.
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="deque-patterns.min.css">Add a script link to deque-patterns.min.js to the bottom of the page.
<script type="text/javascript" src="deque-patterns.min.js"></script>Step 2: Add HTML
For each aria-link, create a container (e.g. <span>) with the following three attributes:
role="link"to designate the element as a linkdata-href: the URL of the link destinationclass="deque-link-aria"to initialize the links on the page andclass="deque-link"for styling purposes.- Optional:
data-targetto designate the window target, e.g.data-target="_blank"to force the link to open in a new window.