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Re: link underlines and link colors

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From: Chris Heilmann
Date: May 26, 2004 3:57PM

leo wrote:

>Hi Folks,
>
>I am interested to get everybody's perspective on the issue of underlining
>links and link colors.
>
>Both W3C and Section 508 require that information is not conveyed solely
>using color.
>
>If a Web site has a style that removes the underlining of links in their
>unvisited and visited states, would this be a violation of this checkpoint?
>
>Along similar lines of thought, is the very fact that visited link colors
>are different from unvisited colors also a violation, since color is the
>only cue being used to make that differentiation?
>
>Leo.
>
>
Well, it is mainly an accessibility and a usability thing. Personally, I
do think a navigation can have non-underlined links and also no visited
link state, if it is obvious that it is the main navigation. Links
inside copy text should have both, underlines and states. Nielsen[1]
published some revised guidelines on links lately, and they more or less
say the same. Joe Clark [2] also rightfully claims that colours for the
different states have to be set, and also explains it in detail in
"Building Accessible Web Sites".

[1] http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040510.html
[2] http://www.joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter09.html
http://www.joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter08.html