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XS✔ ◾ Added warning to not try other effects in text hover #9755

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Jan 14, 2025
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Binary file added rules/underlined-links/bad-example-bold-hover.gif
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50 changes: 36 additions & 14 deletions rules/underlined-links/rule.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
---
type: rule
archivedreason:
seoDescription: Hover effects on text links are a great way to enhance user experience and make your website more interactive.
title: Do you use underlines on links?
guid: b55df040-7424-48e4-b19b-14d4bcdcfbc7
uri: underlined-links
Expand All @@ -19,19 +20,12 @@ redirects:

---

Ensure your links are easily distinguishable from the background and surrounding text by **always making them underlined**. Users expect underlined texts to be a link; and links to be underlined.
Ensure your links are easily distinguishable from the background and surrounding text by **always making them underlined**. Users expect underlined texts to be a link; and links to be underlined.

<!--endintro-->

Keep in mind:
* Underlines are **not** necessary on obvious links, like menu items or buttons
* **Never underline a text that isn't a link** - Use bold or another styling if you need emphasis.

::: greybox
When you develop on SharePoint, you <u>do not</u> have a full copy of web.config in your Visual Studio project.
:::
::: bad
Figure: Bad example - Never underline the text when it isn't a link
::: info
**Note:** Underlines are **not** necessary on obvious links, like **menu items** or **buttons**.
:::

::: greybox
Expand All @@ -45,9 +39,27 @@ Figure: Good example - The link is nice and clear
**Tip:** You can [use a different color on underlines](https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css3_pr_text-decoration-color.asp) as a nice touch.
:::

### Mouse hovering effect
## Never underline a text that isn't a link

Rollovers are also important as they offer visual feedback to a user that this link that will take them somewhere. While there is a myriad of ways to do this; you can't go wrong with a color change. Hover the good example above to see this working.
Use bold or another styling if you need emphasis.

::: greybox
When you develop on SharePoint, you <u>do not</u> have a full copy of web.config in your Visual Studio project.
:::
::: bad
Figure: Bad example - Never underline the text when it isn't a link
:::

::: greybox
When you develop on SharePoint, you **do not** have a full copy of web.config in your Visual Studio project.
:::
::: good
Figure: Good example - Using bold for emphasis
:::

## Include a hovering effect

Rollovers are also important as they offer visual feedback to a user that this link that will take them somewhere. While there is a myriad of ways to do this; color change is recommended because it preserves text readability. Hover the good example above to see this working.

The basic CSS for changing the link color on hover is:

Expand All @@ -57,13 +69,23 @@ a:hover {
}
```

### CSS - Avoid borders on text
### Avoid other effects on hover for text

Effects like bold, scaling, rotation, or background changes can distort text, making it harder for users to read and interact with links.

::: bad
![Figure: Bad example - Using bold on hovering may cause a text shift](bad-example-bold-hover.gif)
:::

**Note:** These effects may be used for buttons or other non-text content elements.

## Avoid replacing underlines with borders

The default implementation of underlines in CSS is:

``` css
text-decoration: underline;
```
```

Another way to add look-alike underlines is by adding `border-bottom: 1px;`, for example. In this case, you can even have a dotted underline. However, it's **not recommended** you use this method unless you are a designer and know what you are doing. It may create extra pixels in the interface, which can potentially cause other problems in your UI:

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