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Home / Accessibility Checker / Force Link Underline

Force Link Underline

Does your WordPress theme not underline links by default? This article explains how to quickly improve link accessibility by adding underlines to links in WordPress – without writing any code.

How to Underline Links in WordPress

If your website is missing underlines on links and relying on color alone to denote something is a link, this can be easily fixed using the WordPress Accessibility Checker plugin.

Step 1

Click into the Accessibility Checker plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard (you must be logged in with an administrator account to access these settings).

Arrow pointing to the Settings page in the WordPress admin menu, which can be found under the Accessibility Checker top-level page.

Step 2

Go to the “Fixes” tab in the Settings Tabs navigation.

Arrow pointing to the Fixes page in the Settings tab navigation below the Accessibility Checker Settings H1.

Step 3

Check the box for Force Link Underline, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Save Changes” button.

Checkbox labeled:  Ensure that non-navigation links are underlined.

Note: Automated accessibility fixes use JavaScript or other methods to modify how your website functions. Occasionally, a WordPress theme or extension may conflict with or prevent our fixes from working as expected. We recommend testing these fixes on a local or staging copy of your website first.

Not seeing the fix?

The Force Link Underline accessibility fix should start working immediately; however, if you don’t see the fix, it could be because you’re seeing a cached version of your website. Try clearing the cache in any caching plugins and on your hosting account, then look at your site in an incognito window to confirm the fix worked.

Note: Turning on a fix will not instantly remove related issues from Accessibility Checker reports. After turning on a fix, you can clear issues from reports by running a full site scan in Accessibility Checker Pro or by saving any individual post/page to trigger a rescan of that post/page only.

What This Fix Does

When enabled, the Force Link Underline fix improves accessibility by ensuring that all links outside your site’s navigation menu are easily distinguishable from plain text by underlining them.

Specifically, it targets all links that are not inside a <nav> tag or an element with the role="navigation" attribute, automatically applying an underline to them with CSS. The underline will be removed on hover.

Additionally, this fix adds a 2px outline to links on keyboard focus.

Impact on Accessibility

Underlining links is a simple yet powerful way to improve your website’s accessibility. Without underlines, users with vision impairments, color blindness, or cognitive disabilities may have difficulty recognizing clickable links, especially if your website relies on color alone to differentiate links from regular text.

By ensuring that all non-navigation links are underlined, this feature makes your site more accessible for all users, particularly those who rely on visual cues. The added focus outline also enhances usability for individuals using keyboards or assistive technology to navigate your site, ensuring that links are easy to spot and interact with.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • How to Install & Activate Accessibility Checker
  • Getting Started Quick Guide
  • Why Do We Say 100% Passed Tests, Not 100% Accessible?
  • Manual Accessibility Testing: How You Can Check Website Accessibility
  • When and How to Ignore Accessibility Errors or Warnings
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  • Can I Hire Equalize Digital to Fix Accessibility Issues on My Website?
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  • Is there an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) or VPAT available for Accessibility Checker?
  • How to Get the Audit History Plugin – Legacy Customer Instructions
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  • Ensuring Accessibility Checker Fixes Work with JavaScript Optimization Plugins

Rule Documentation

  • A Slider is Present
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  • ARIA Hidden
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  • Possible Heading
  • Readability & Simplified Summary
  • Tab Order Modified
  • Text Justified
  • Text Too Small
  • Underlined Text
  • Zooming and Scaling Disabled

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