Sometimes when writing a blog post, we want to keep readers attention by engaging them through interactivity. Even if our readers choose not to follow the links, they have the option to, and it creates a better blog experience. So how do we do this?
Find your link
Try to link to reputable websites – ones that contain valid information and seem “legit” and suitable for your purpose. For example, linking to Buzzfeed may be appropriate for a personal journal blog, but there are few instances where it would be equally as suitable in an academic context.
Make sure that your link points to where you want your readers to focus. This might be the home page, or a specific blog post. It always worth double checking during your blog creation process that your links go where they are meant to, to save yourself potential embarrassment!
If you have a choice between a “permalink” and a regular link, choose the “permalink” – this is often an option in institutional websites, which may change servers or hosts from time to time. Using a permalink will guarantee that your link always points to where you want to go.
Insert your link in Thinkspace
When you open Thinkspace, your view will look something like this:
The red box highlights the “Insert link” button. Highlight some text and click this button. If you’ve done this successfully, it should pop up with a text box under the highlighted words like this:
Paste your link into this box and you’re set! You now have a contextual hyperlink – or “clickable text”