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DEV-URL-02Avoid2 of 11 in URL

Do not navigate with onclick handlers, javascript: URLs, routerLink without href or # pseudo-links

Level
Avoid

Must not: the site is not ready to launch while it does this.

Documentation

Documented

At least one cited Google document states or supports it.

Area
URLURLs, links and discovery
Covered

Automatic

Decided automatically once Regensbot renders your pages.

Why it matters

A Google slide put onclick-only links, javascript: URLs, routerLink without href and href on non-a elements under "cannot extract"; Google's link documentation calls them not recommended and says Google may still try to parse them. Either way they are not dependable for discovery, and they are common in single-page apps and faceted navigation.

How to meet it

Replace each pattern with <a href="/path">. Keep buttons for actions that do not change the URL (add to cart, open a dialog). Use URL fragments only where you deliberately do not want Google to follow, such as filter combinations (DEV-URL-08).

How to test it

Search templates and the rendered HTML (DevTools Elements panel, URL Inspection) for onclick navigation, javascript:, routerLink without href, href on span or div, and href="#/"; a JavaScript-rendering crawler finds no orphaned templates.

How Regensbot covers it

AutomaticNeedsRendering in headless Chromium

Decided automatically once Regensbot renders your pages.

Headless Chromium renders the page on an isolated render service, and the raw and the rendered HTML run through the same parsers.

How verdicts workWhat you connect

Sources

Google documents03

  1. 01Link best practices for GoogleGoogle Search Central (opens in a new tab)
  2. 02Understand the JavaScript SEO basicsGoogle Search Central (opens in a new tab)
  3. 03Fix Search-related JavaScript problemsGoogle Search Central (opens in a new tab)

Claims in the knowledge base06

  1. D2-C040ConsistentHow is HTML interpretedShown on screen
  2. D2-C041ConsistentHow is HTML interpretedShown on screen
  3. D2-C042ConsistentHow is HTML interpretedShown on screen
  4. D2-C043SourceHow is HTML interpretedGoogle's documentation
  5. D2-C184ConfirmedLightning session D: Rendering and JavaScriptShown on screen
  6. D2-C186ConsistentLightning session D: Rendering and JavaScriptSaid on stage

Claim IDs refer to the Search Central Live 2026 knowledge base. The knowledge base (opens in a new tab)

Confirmed
Google's documentation states the same thing.
Consistent
Google's documentation supports it without stating it.
Source
The claim is the cited document itself.

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