| It is a fact that links have always been a | | | | underlining and color. |
| vital part in the internet navigational | | | | |
| process. Depending on the links and also on | | | | The second trait is not as important as the |
| the content of the site that the link leads | | | | first one, i.e. underline can be eliminated |
| to, internet users decide on the worthiness | | | | in some cases like the one when an area |
| of coming back to that site or not. | | | | functionality is absolutely obvious - for |
| | | | instance, we could think of a site menu where |
| One cannot fail to notice the latest trends | | | | everybody expects a content summary as a |
| imposed by web 2.0, the emergence of a new | | | | presentation. |
| writing genre designed to cater for the new | | | | |
| needs and tastes of internet users and also | | | | Thus, you should provide users with |
| the transformation process that search | | | | sufficient click ability cues. Trying to put |
| engines undergo. | | | | the cursor over different parts of the page |
| | | | is time consuming and not quite "affordable" |
| Broadly speaking, users go from page to page | | | | with a view to gain more traffic. At the same |
| selecting only the most important information | | | | time, it's worth keeping in mind that there |
| or just the information that is easier to | | | | area certain click ability expectancies |
| spot; they need to be able to make a quick | | | | regarding different regions of a web page; |
| assessment of the page content, get the | | | | for instance, items on the center, left, |
| information they are seeking and go to | | | | right side have a high probability of being |
| another page. | | | | links. |
| | | | |
| Usually, web authors employ hypertext links | | | | 3. Use different colors for visited and |
| to create or reinforce concepts: a list of | | | | unvisited links |
| related links can serve as the focus of a | | | | |
| site. The problem posed by links has little | | | | Links that were clicked must differentiate |
| to do with the web but is rather related to | | | | one way or another from the ones that were |
| the concept of hypertext. A collection of | | | | not; the best way of doing that is the color |
| links does not have the same effect on the | | | | contrast; links are supposed to stand out on |
| reader and is not as legible as conventional | | | | the computer screen as much as possible; in |
| linear text. | | | | this respect, bright, vivid colors are |
| | | | preferable - links should differentiate from |
| In the case of linear text, readers have to | | | | linear text in any case. |
| work harder in seek of needed information. | | | | |
| Links also become a technical problem, | | | | Conversely, links that were already clicked |
| because most web pages have a certain rank on | | | | should employ a rather pale and "washed" |
| search engines due to links. Links are to be | | | | color. The effect of using different colors |
| used as a reinforcement of, not a substitute | | | | but both at the same level of chromatic |
| for content. | | | | intensity might result in a failure to |
| | | | establish a concrete content relationship |
| What is worth mentioning when tackling the | | | | between those links, users won't be able to |
| link issue is that designers are supposed to | | | | tell visited from non-visited links. |
| use relevant link labels, give consistent | | | | |
| click ability cues and also differentiate | | | | Even though some compromises would be |
| links that have been clicked from those that | | | | acceptable (like using other colors), using |
| haven't. | | | | blue for text is an exception. Blue is a |
| | | | color with the most notable perceived |
| 1. Use relevant link description | | | | affordance of click ability. |
| | | | |
| Users' confusion must be avoided at all | | | | 4. Colors for text are to be avoided |
| costs. In this respect, they should be able | | | | |
| to look at every link and be able to predict | | | | It is recommended that colors should be used |
| to some extent the destination or the website | | | | for hyperlinks only. Nevertheless, there are |
| they are about to visit. A negative example | | | | generally recognized and allowed colors for |
| in this case is using the label - Click | | | | certain words such as red for "error" or |
| here-, which is rather confusing and does not | | | | green for "ok". Technically speaking, when |
| provide any kind of information about the | | | | referring to document colors, it is advisable |
| link destination. | | | | that you specify all of the colors (BGCOLOR, |
| | | | TEXT, LINK, VLINK, ALINK), to ensure an |
| Another relevant case is that of embedded | | | | enjoyable and legible composition. Find out |
| links; when employing embedded links, the | | | | more about choosing the right colors for your |
| link text should accurately designate the | | | | web site. |
| link's direction. Users have a certain | | | | |
| tendency towards ignoring the text | | | | The main reason reinforcing this idea is that |
| surrounding embedded links; consequently, it | | | | some users may have certain colors set as |
| is recommended that you should not create | | | | default, so if you don't specify all the |
| embedded links that use the surrounding text | | | | colors of a document, they may end up with an |
| in order to provide hints about the link's | | | | illegible document. In addition, even when |
| destination. | | | | using a background image, you should still |
| | | | specify BGCOLOR, because the user may not |
| 2. Be aware that textual links do have | | | | have the image loading on. |
| certain main characteristics like: | | | | |