To make more of the area around a link clickable, enlarge the anchor’s interactive box—not just the words that look like a link. For a suitable text block, put the text inside one anchor, set that anchor to display: block, and add padding. Harry Roberts demonstrated this in a 2011 CSS Wizardry article; the technique remains useful, but its 20px padding is an example, not a current accessibility sizing standard.
How does enlarging a link’s hit area work?
A link’s hit area is the region that responds to pointer input. It can be larger than the visible call-to-action words. When a link wraps a suitable block of text and is displayed as a block, padding on the anchor expands its interactive area around that content.
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In his 12 January 2011 example, Harry Roberts wraps a sentence in an anchor, uses display: block and padding: 20px, then styles the emphasized call to action separately. The words can remain the visual focus while the surrounding area is also part of the link. See Roberts’s original CSS Wizardry example.
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Use this pattern only when the whole text block leads to the same destination. Avoid wrapping unrelated links or other interactive controls inside the enlarged anchor.
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How large should the clickable area be?
The 20px in the 2011 example is padding, not the final width or height of the target. The rendered target also depends on the content and layout. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.5.8 (Level AA) sets a minimum pointer-target size of 24 by 24 CSS pixels, subject to exceptions. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023. Read the W3C explanation of Target Size (Minimum) and the WCAG 2.2 Recommendation.
The criterion’s exceptions include equivalent controls, inline targets constrained by text, user-agent controls, essential presentation, and spacing. Under the spacing exception, an undersized target may qualify if the defined 24 CSS pixel diameter circles around it do not intersect another target’s circle. The W3C recommends meeting the minimum size where possible, even when spacing could be used instead.
Check the rendered interactive region and nearby controls at the layouts you support. A visual change alone does not prove that the pointer target is large enough, and adding padding can affect how a link sits beside neighboring targets or behaves when text wraps.
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| Approach | When it fits | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Enlarge the anchor with block layout and padding | A suitable text block has one destination and can be a single link. | Rendered target dimensions, neighboring controls, text reflow, and visible keyboard focus. The CSS Wizardry article demonstrates this approach. |
| Keep the target undersized but provide spacing | The target may qualify under WCAG 2.2 SC 2.5.8’s spacing exception. | Whether the specified circles around the undersized target and nearby targets intersect; spacing is an exception, not the same as enlarging the target. |
| Leave the link inline | The target’s size is constrained by text flow and the inline-target exception applies. | How the link behaves as text reflows and whether the exception applies to the actual presentation. |
How do you keep an enlarged link usable with a keyboard?
Make sure the link can receive keyboard focus and that its focus is visibly indicated. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.4.7 requires visible keyboard focus; it does not prescribe one specific indicator design. See the W3C guidance on Focus Visible. Check the focused link in the same layout used to assess its pointer target.
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