Let’s Do This Better: CTA’s

Common misconceptions, and best practices for accessibility.

Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash

There is a lot of debate around the proper use of links versus buttons for CTA’s (call-to-action elements). There are two things we know for sure:

1. Links take you somewhere. (think of going on an adventure with Link from Zelda)
2. Buttons let you take action. (think of turning your computer on and off)

So what’s the problem?

We constantly see links styled as buttons. Sometimes this is okay — for example a “submit” button for a form. In other places, this causes an issue for people who use screen readers and cannot see buttons on-screen.

Photo by Yan from Pexels

Here’s an example:

Jenn calls her bank’s customer service for help finding the comparison chart for new credit cards on their website. She uses a screen-reader because she has extremely blurry low vision.

The customer service rep is telling her to “Click the button under “Card Options” — Jenn cannot see a button, and what is on screen is a link styled as a button that reads “Learn More”.