Link contrast
Silktide finds links inside your text that are distinguished from the words around them by color alone, with too little color difference for people with impaired color vision to spot. Links need to be recognizable as links, or readers cannot use them.
Why this matters
Around 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have a color vision deficiency. If the only thing marking a link is a subtle color change, these readers see plain text and never know the link exists. That means missed navigation, missed calls to action, and a level A failure - this is among the most basic accessibility requirements.
How to fix it
There are two ways to make an inline link compliant:
- Distinguish it by more than color - the simplest fix is an underline, which is what most readers expect links to have. A border, background, or noticeably heavier font weight also works.
/* Links relying on color alone */
a { color: #4a6da7; text-decoration: none; }
/* Fixed: underline makes the link visible to everyone */
a { color: #4a6da7; text-decoration: underline; }
- Use a strongly different color plus a visible focus and hover state - the link color must have a of at least 3:1 with the surrounding text, and the link must change visibly (for example gain an underline) on mouse hover and .
How Silktide tests this
- Find visible links that sit inside a run of text, with words directly before or after them. Standalone links, such as menu items and buttons, are not tested by this check.
- Skip links where the link color, surrounding text color, or background color cannot be reliably resolved.
- Pass links that are visually distinct without color: underlined, bordered, given a background, or at least 200 font-weight units heavier than the surrounding text.
- Otherwise, measure the contrast ratio between the link color and the surrounding text color, and inspect how the link changes on focus and hover. Report the link unless the ratio is at least 3:1 and the focus or hover state is visibly different.
Troubleshooting
My links change on hover, so why are they flagged?
A hover change alone is not enough - the link must also have at least a 3:1 color contrast with the surrounding text. And even together, this route only helps people who can perceive the color difference well enough to try hovering in the first place. An underline remains the most reliable fix.
Links in menus and buttons are not flagged
Correct - this check only applies to links surrounded by other text, where a reader has to tell the link apart from the words around it. Links that stand alone are visually identifiable by their position and styling.