diff --git a/src/wp-admin/css/common.css b/src/wp-admin/css/common.css
index a7b04fa37c..5907256d65 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/css/common.css
+++ b/src/wp-admin/css/common.css
@@ -138,6 +138,11 @@
 	height: auto; /* Fixes a Safari+VoiceOver bug, see ticket #42006 */
 }
 
+.screen-reader-text + .dashicons-external {
+	margin-top: -1px;
+	margin-left: 2px;
+}
+
 .screen-reader-shortcut {
 	position: absolute;
 	top: -1000em;
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-site-health.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-site-health.php
index fa2e06ac7d..a198b496d7 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-site-health.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-site-health.php
@@ -746,7 +746,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 				)
 			),
 			'actions'     => sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				esc_url( wp_get_update_php_url() ),
 				__( 'Learn more about updating PHP' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -894,7 +894,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 					esc_url( __( 'https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/handbook/handbook/server-environment/#php-extensions' ) ),
 					'target="_blank" rel="noopener"',
 					sprintf(
-						' <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span>',
+						'<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span>',
 						/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
 						__( '(opens in a new tab)' )
 					)
@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 				__( 'The SQL server is a required piece of software for the database WordPress uses to store all your site&#8217;s content and settings.' )
 			),
 			'actions'     => sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				/* translators: Localized version of WordPress requirements if one exists. */
 				esc_url( __( 'https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/' ) ),
 				__( 'Learn more about what WordPress requires to run.' ),
@@ -1458,7 +1458,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 			);
 
 			$result['actions'] = sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				/* translators: Localized Support reference. */
 				esc_url( __( 'https://wordpress.org/support/forums/' ) ),
 				__( 'Get help resolving this issue.' ),
@@ -1496,7 +1496,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 				__( 'Debug mode is often enabled to gather more details about an error or site failure, but may contain sensitive information which should not be available on a publicly available website.' )
 			),
 			'actions'     => sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				/* translators: Documentation explaining debugging in WordPress. */
 				esc_url( __( 'https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/debugging-in-wordpress/' ) ),
 				__( 'Learn more about debugging in WordPress.' ),
@@ -2478,7 +2478,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 			);
 		} else {
 			$result['actions'] .= sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				__( 'https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/frequently-asked-questions/#why-is-authentication-not-working' ),
 				__( 'Learn how to configure the Authorization header.' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -2511,7 +2511,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 			'status'      => 'good',
 			'label'       => '',
 			'actions'     => sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">%2$s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				__( 'https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/optimization/#Caching' ),
 				__( 'Learn more about page cache' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -2637,7 +2637,7 @@ class WP_Site_Health {
 				__( 'A persistent object cache makes your site&#8217;s database more efficient, resulting in faster load times because WordPress can retrieve your site&#8217;s content and settings much more quickly.' )
 			),
 			'actions'     => sprintf(
-				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s <span class="screen-reader-text">%s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
+				'<p><a href="%s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a></p>',
 				esc_url( $action_url ),
 				__( 'Learn more about persistent object caching.' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php
index c73ee8ee47..53a1043b17 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php
@@ -1298,7 +1298,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_events_news() {
 	<p class="community-events-footer">
 		<?php
 			printf(
-				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
+				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
 				'https://make.wordpress.org/community/meetups-landing-page',
 				__( 'Meetups' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -1310,7 +1310,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_events_news() {
 
 		<?php
 			printf(
-				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
+				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
 				'https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/',
 				__( 'WordCamps' ),
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -1322,7 +1322,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_events_news() {
 
 		<?php
 			printf(
-				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
+				'<a href="%1$s" target="_blank">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
 				/* translators: If a Rosetta site exists (e.g. https://es.wordpress.org/news/), then use that. Otherwise, leave untranslated. */
 				esc_url( _x( 'https://wordpress.org/news/', 'Events and News dashboard widget' ) ),
 				__( 'News' ),
@@ -1648,7 +1648,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_quota() {
 				number_format_i18n( $quota )
 			);
 			printf(
-				'<a href="%1$s">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">(%3$s)</span></a>',
+				'<a href="%1$s">%2$s<span class="screen-reader-text"> (%3$s)</span></a>',
 				esc_url( admin_url( 'upload.php' ) ),
 				$text,
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -1664,7 +1664,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_quota() {
 				$percentused
 			);
 			printf(
-				'<a href="%1$s" class="musublink">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">(%3$s)</span></a>',
+				'<a href="%1$s" class="musublink">%2$s<span class="screen-reader-text"> (%3$s)</span></a>',
 				esc_url( admin_url( 'upload.php' ) ),
 				$text,
 				/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
@@ -1895,7 +1895,7 @@ function wp_dashboard_php_nag() {
 	<p class="button-container">
 		<?php
 		printf(
-			'<a class="button button-primary" href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
+			'<a class="button button-primary" href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%2$s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
 			esc_url( wp_get_update_php_url() ),
 			__( 'Learn more about updating PHP' ),
 			/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/functions.php b/src/wp-includes/functions.php
index 164548c680..adf8b86170 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/functions.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/functions.php
@@ -8239,7 +8239,7 @@ function wp_direct_php_update_button() {
 
 	echo '<p class="button-container">';
 	printf(
-		'<a class="button button-primary" href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%2$s <span class="screen-reader-text">%3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
+		'<a class="button button-primary" href="%1$s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">%2$s<span class="screen-reader-text"> %3$s</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="dashicons dashicons-external"></span></a>',
 		esc_url( $direct_update_url ),
 		__( 'Update PHP' ),
 		/* translators: Hidden accessibility text. */