Link

Links are clickable items used to navigate users to another page or place on a page.

When to use

For navigating within a page or to a new page

When not to use

To perform an action
Specify a new or next step in a process
Trigger a new UI element to appear on the page
Begin a new task

Anatomy

Label: available in 3 sizes: small, medium (default) and large
Icon: can be used to add affordance or additional meaning to a link, but not simply for decoration
- Off-site icon must be used if the link is taking a user to an external website
- The arrow icon should only be used with standalone links

Demos & variations

Standalone links

Standalone links can be found within the CTA component in AEM.

Standalone links on blue background

Available in full-width banner, full-width split banner, banner and sticky banner.

Inline links

When including a link within a block of text, use the inline link styling to draw attention to it and ensure users understand it’s clickable.

For most health insurance plans, you can choose a plan or make changes to a plan you already have during open enrollment. That’s the most common time to get a health insurance plan. However, you can get certain plans like short term insurance or Medicaid at any time during the year.

Inline links on blue background

Available in full-width banner, full-width split banner, banner and sticky banner.

When to show offsite icon

Internal links will be anything with the UnitedHeatlhcare brand. When a user clicks the link their journey stays within the same browser tab. External links will be anything that is not on uhc.com or is not branded UHC or UHG. An external link is denoted with an offsite icon that opens in a new tab when a user clicks the link.

URL / Property	Internal or External?
Shop: uhone, SBS, exchange	Internal
Sign in: myuhc, member.uhc.com, HSID, unitedservices, myuhcvision	Internal
UHC sites: uhcprovider, uhcdental.com, uhcsafetrip.com, rmhp.com	Internal
UHC sites: uhg.com, UHCCF, careers.uhg.com	Internal
Optum sites: OptumRx, LAWW, Optumbank	External: would show offsite icon and open in a new tab
Rally: find a doctor	Internal
Language sites	Internal
Non UnitedHealthcare URLs: CDC, Mayo clinic, etc.	External: would show offsite icon and open in a new tab
PDFs, Apps, and other file types	External: would show offsite icon and open in a new tab
Social media properties	External: would NOT show offsite icon, the logo and link destination is sufficient

Behaviors

Mouse

Users can trigger a link by clicking on it.

Keyboard

Users can navigate to a link by pressing Tab and Shift-Tab. Users can trigger a link by pressing Enter when the element has focus.

Content

Use a concise but clear description of where the link will take the user
Lead with a verb and write in sentence case
Link text should be unique to provide screen reader users context to understand the relationship of the link to the other content on the page