WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

hyperlinked text that is indistinguishable from adjacent text

for

From: Mosley, Leigh
Date: Feb 7, 2024 11:01AM

Greetings WebAim!

Very often I see hyperlinked text that is visually indistinguishable from the adjacent text (i.e., it's all plain black text on white background). The only indicator that some text is hyperlinked is the underlining that appears on keyboard focus and the hand pointer that appears on mouse hover. I feel this is certainly a UX issue, but is it actually an accessibility issue under WCAG? If the linked text were dark blue and the adjacent text black, I could fail it under 1.4.1 - but since it's all black text, color isn't being used to convey any information. And failure technique F73 seems to provide this exemption: "There is no requirement that links be identifiable by people who cannot perceive color if they are not perceivable for those with color vision. (e.g. if the links are hidden for everyone - as in a game or test)." But this isn't a game or test - these are respected online academic journals and I see this style choice for hyperlinked text in their articles very frequently.

Thanks!

Leigh Mosley