Link Name Checker
Paste your page HTML and find empty, image-only and hash-only anchors — every link needs a name and a real href.
What this tool gives you
Check link names
Paste your page HTML. Analysis runs locally in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
Every <a> needs a name (text, alt or aria-label) and a real href — not empty, # or javascript:.
What this checker looks for
WCAG 2.4.4 (Link Purpose) fails when a link is announced as “link” with no destination. Logo and icon links are the usual culprits.
Accessible name
Text, aria-label or image alt so AT can say where the link goes.
Real href
Empty href and href="#" send keyboard users nowhere.
Image links
Logo links still need alt or aria-label naming the destination.
No javascript:
Actions belong on <button>. Citations stay on https:// URLs.
Hash-only
In-page jumps need a matching id. Bare # is a dead control.
0–100 score
Track unnamed links across templates, not just the homepage.
How to fix unnamed links
Three rules cover almost every empty-link bug in the wild.
Name every link
Visible text, image alt or aria-label. Screen readers should hear the destination, not “link”.
Use a real href
Empty href and bare # send keyboard users nowhere. Point to a URL or a matching id.
Name logo links
A linked logo with empty alt has no name. Alt or aria-label should say where it goes.
Why answer engines care about link names
Named links are a cheap-to-parse signal of destination and citation-ready structure.
| Signal | What engines infer | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Named links | Each citation has a destination. | Crawlers can follow and quote the source, not a dead #. |
| Image alt | Logo and icon links were labeled. | Predictable names lower bounce on AI-referred visits. |
| Real hrefs | The page does not fake navigation. | javascript: and empty hrefs waste crawl budget. |
| WCAG 2.4.4 pass | Link purpose is exposed. | Citable, trustworthy pages get quoted more often. |
| Skip-friendly | Keyboard users can act on every link. | Engagement quality feeds crawl and ranking models. |
Related GEO pages
Link names pair with descriptive anchors and skip targets so keyboard paths actually resolve.
Link name FAQs
Why do empty links fail accessibility?
WCAG 2.4.4 (Link Purpose) requires the purpose of each link to be determined from the link text (or the name plus context). An empty <a> is announced as “link” with no destination. Users cannot tell Home from Pricing.
How should logo and icon links be named?
Keep the image for sighted users and add alt or aria-label that names the destination (“Slogan.website home”, “Open cart”). Do not leave alt empty on a linked logo — that hides the only name the link has.
Are href="#" and javascript: links a problem?
Bare # and empty href send keyboard users nowhere. javascript: hrefs are not crawlable citations and fail when JS is blocked. Use a real URL, an in-page id, or a <button> for actions.