Make links distinguishable by using styles other than color
Last updated:
How to fix the problem?
To address the issue, ensure that links are easily distinguishable from surrounding text. You can achieve this by meeting one of the following requirements:
- Use text underlining, font styling, borders or use a different background color for the link.
- Maintain a color contrast of at least 3:1 between link text and paragraph text. Manually verify that links receive distinct styles on focus and hover.
BAD:

CORRECT:

A best practice is to underline links to make them distinguishable:
<p>
Example
<a href="https://example.com" style="text-decoration: underline"> website </a>
link
</p>
Why is this important?
Individuals with low vision or color vision deficiencies may have difficulty distinguishing links from regular text when color is the only distinguishing factor.
Color vision deficiency affects approximately 1 in 12 men.
More info:
Rule info
Standard
WCAG A SC 1.4.1
User impact
Serious impact Significantly hinders users with disabilities. Should be fixed as a high priority. Critical : blocks access entirely Serious : significantly hinders use Moderate : causes difficulty Minor : minimal disruptionFix complexity
Medium level of technical expertise required To resolve this issue, you might need some technical background. It is possible to fix this issue without needing a software developer. This depends on the Content Management System (CMS) that your website is built with.Affects
Visual People with vision related disabilities can include those with color blindness, low vision, or complete blindness. Providing alternative text (also known as alt text) for graphical content is especially important for these individuals, as it allows assistive technologies such as screen readers to describe the content to them.
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