Web Designers Guide to Adobe Photoshop (Wordware Applications Library)

Following are the five main guidelines for links:

• Make obvious what’s clickable: for text links, use colored, underlined text (and don’t underline non-link text).

• Differentiate visited and unvisited links.

• Explain what users will find at the other end of the link, and include some of the key information-carrying terms in the anchor text itself to enhance scannability and search engine optimization (SEO). Don’t use “click here” or other-non-descriptive link text.

• Avoid JavaScript or other fancy techniques that break standard interaction techniques for dealing with links.

• In particular, don’t open pages in new windows (except for PDF files and such).

Links are the web’s number one interaction element. Violating common expectations for how links work is a sure way to confuse and delay users, and might prevent them from being able to use your site.