:link
The :link
CSS pseudo-class represents an element that has not yet been visited. It matches every unvisited <a>
or <area>
element that has an href
attribute.
Try it
Styles defined by the :link
and :visited
pseudo-classes can be overridden by any subsequent user-action pseudo-classes (:hover
or :active
) that have at least equal specificity. To style links appropriately, put the :link
rule before all other link-related rules, as defined by the LVHA-order: :link
— :visited
— :hover
— :active
. The :visited
pseudo-class and :link
pseudo-class are mutually exclusive.
Note: Use :any-link
to select an element independent of whether it has been visited or not.
Syntax
css
:link {
/* ... */
}
Examples
By default, most browsers apply a special color
value to visited links. Thus, the links in this example will probably have special font colors only before you visit them. (After that, you'll need to clear your browser history to see them again.) However, the background-color
values are likely to remain, as most browsers do not set that property on visited links by default.
HTML
html
<a href="#ordinary-target">This is an ordinary link.</a><br />
<a href="">You've already visited this link.</a><br />
<a>Placeholder link (won't get styled)</a>
CSS
css
a:link {
background-color: gold;
color: green;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # selector-link |
Selectors Level 4 # link |
Browser compatibility
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