Web Site Development Blue Links
"Thanks for all your help with our website and your
suggestions. We get so many comments on our web site.
Web reservations are going great. Your other marketing
advice is working well too!"
Thanks
-Kathy, Innkeeper
Inn at The Rostay, Bethel, Maine
Leave those Links Blue
Don't mess with those links!
When designing a site, leave your text links in
their natural state - blue and underlined.
Web developers all want to be creative and not do
the bland, expected, normal thing. They want to
change your links to red, green, yellow, even black
-anything but blue. And they have the urge to take
off those underlines.
That temptation must be resisted. It's hard. But
there's a good reason to leave them alone.
From the earliest days of the web, text links have
been blue. People intuitively recognize that blue,
underlined text is a link. They know they can click
on it.
The combination of blue and underlines means
"If I click on this, it goes
somewhere". People are conditioned to
recognize those distinguishing characteristics. They
are like Pavlov's dogs--they see the link and
instantly know what it means. There's no time wasted
in trying to figure out whether or not that
particular word or phrase is clickable.
If you mess with the natural appearance of a link,
you lose that instant recognition. People have to
stop and think (and often click) to figure out what
your colors mean. I have watched countless people
try to navigate websites and spend half their time
figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have
no way of knowing.
In addition, people scan a page for links. They like
to be active on the internet, and they like to know
what they can do, where they can go. When they
recognize a link in your copy, it's a clear signal
of someplace to go. Visitors want to know what their
options are. It's not a good idea to make life
difficult. They'll appreciate coming across a site
that's easy to use and doesn't try to confuse them
(for once!).
It is becoming more acceptable
to use other colors for your text links, as long as
they remain underlined. At IMS-21, we
recognize blue is still best. This is because so
many people use underlined, colored text on their
sites that is NOT linked. Visitors have a tendency
to get confused. They never know what to expect.
With blue, it's obvious.
Some people have brought up the point that if we
stick to the status quo, there will never be any
improvements in the system.
However: In a medium like the web, forward movement
will never be a problem. The web continues to push
ahead, regardless of whether your site jumps on the
bandwagon or not. There will always be new growth,
no matter what your site does.
The question is, when is it appropriate for your
site to adopt the latest fads? To answer that
question, you must keep in mind your site's purpose
and your audience.
If your site is technology oriented, and your
visitors are technically-minded and on the cutting
edge, then going for the latest trend is more
appropriate.
But if your site is focused on an average web user
(like any good travel site should be), it's
different. If you're selling a vacation,
communicating information, or driving a specific
action, you need to keep your visitors focused on
that goal. You shouldn't distract them with trying
to learn a new set of skills and standards just so
they can navigate your site.
Never move faster than your audience is ready to
move. At this point in time, people still struggle
with being able to recognize links. A majority of
people have a difficult time finding what they want.
If they are still struggling, your site needs to
accommodate them.
As more and more people become comfortable with
advances in technology and design style, it will be
appropriate to incorporate those advances into your
site. But wait until your audience is ready.
In the context of some sites when it clearly obvious
what is a link and what is not, we sometimes use a
color other than blue for your links. For this to
work, copy should have no colored text that isn't
linked (with the exception of headings) and no
underlined text that isn't linked. We only use
another color if we are sure that visitors won't
have any trouble recognizing your links.
Bottom line:
Visitors shouldn't have to think about what
is a link and what isn't. Whatever you we do to
maintain instant recognition of links - we will!