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Re: underline on links, from the blind's perspective

for

From: John E Brandt
Date: May 24, 2012 9:01AM

My 2 cents...

The underline is generally a usability feature - not an accessibility
feature. As others have stated, links should stand out in some way from the
rest of the design (the exception may be when you have a menu bar with lots
of links). Personally, I still like links to be blue and underlined!

For folks with low vision or mobility issues, perhaps a more important
usability feature is to ensure that whenever a link has "focus" it can be
clearly distinguished from the rest of the background. The browser will
generally do this in some fashion (usually a dotted box around the link)
unless the CSS has turned this off (something CMS themes and template are
notorious for doing). If I can, I will often modify the design to change the
attributes of the link when the focus is on that link (underline to
no-underline, no-underline to underline, color to different color, no
background color to contrasting background color). But in looking at some of
my sites, I haven't always practiced what I preach.

What techniques do others use?

~j

John E. Brandt
www.jebswebs.com
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA