#29 Making Links Stand Out (Without Relying on Just Color)
Mini-Series: Building an Accessible Website (Even If Tech Isn’t Your Thing)
Let’s talk links. They’re one of the most basic parts of your author website. And one of the easiest to accidentally make inaccessible.
A surprising number of people rely on more than just color to recognize a link. And if your site doesn't give them that clue? Your “Preorder Now” button might as well be a disappearing spell.
Why Link Styling Matters
Imagine you’ve got a sentence like this:
You can read more about my book here.
Now imagine someone can’t see color differences—maybe due to color blindness or using a black-and-white screen. If that link only uses a slightly different color, it’ll be invisible to them. Poof. No more clicks.
Accessibility Rule: Don’t rely on color alone to show that something is a link. Use an extra visual cue—like an underline, bold text, or both.
How to Make Links Accessible (Without Losing Style)
Best Practice:
Use a bold underline or distinct formatting
Make sure the link looks different from the rest of your text
Example:
“Check out my character art collection for more sparkle and swordplay.”
What About Hover States?
When someone hovers over or focuses on a link, the color may change. That hover version also needs to be readable and noticeable.
Best Practice:
Use a italics or distinct formatting
Make sure the link looks different from the rest of your text and the way it looked before the user hovered over it
Checklist:
Does the text still contrast enough with the background?
Does it get underlined or change style when the user hovers their mouse over it?
Need to Do Next:
Review all text links on your website
Add bold, underline, or another clear indicator
Check links with a colorblindness simulator
Test using keyboard-only navigation (press Tab to jump through links)
Add a style for when a user hovers over the link with their mouse
Let’s Talk!
Have you ever clicked a link thinking it was regular text—or missed a link because it blended in too well? Share your experience (or questions!) in the comments.
And if you want more tips to make your site easy to explore (even for fae with slightly cursed vision), subscribe to my newsletter. No tech jargon. Just magic, humor, and useful self-publishing advice for the rest of us.