often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to

Don't mess with those links! When you're designing your site, you should leave your text links in their natural state--blue and underlined. We all want to be creative and not do the bland, expected, normal thing. We want to change our links to red, green, yellow, even black--anything but blue. And we have the urge to take off those underlines.

Resist the temptation. It's hard. But there's a good reason to leave them alone.

From the earliest days of the web, text links have been blue. People intuitively recognize that blue, underlined text is a link. They know they can click on it.

The combination of blue and underlines means "If I click on this, it goes somewhere". We're conditioned to recognize those distinguishing characteristics. We're like Pavlov's dogs--we see the link and instantly know what it means. There's no time wasted in trying to figure out whether or not that particular word or phrase is clickable.

If you mess with the natural appearance of a link, you lose that instant recognition. People have to stop and think (and often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to

n black--anything but blue. And we have the urge to take off those underlines.

Resist the temptation. It's hard. But there's a good reason to leave them alone.

From the earliest days of the web, text links have been blue. People intuitively recognize that blue, underlined text is a link. They know they can click on it.

The combination of blue and underlines means "If I click on this, it goes somewhere". We're conditioned to recognize those distinguishing characteristics. We're like Pavlov's dogs--we see the link and instantly know what it means. There's no time wasted in trying to figure out whether or not that particular word or phrase is clickable.

If you mess with the natural appearance of a link, you lose that instant recognition. People have to stop and think (and often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to

blue, underlined text is a link. They know they can click on it.

The combination of blue and underlines means "If I click on this, it goes somewhere". We're conditioned to recognize those distinguishing characteristics. We're like Pavlov's dogs--we see the link and instantly know what it means. There's no time wasted in trying to figure out whether or not that particular word or phrase is clickable.

If you mess with the natural appearance of a link, you lose that instant recognition. People have to stop and think (and often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to

and instantly know what it means. There's no time wasted in trying to figure out whether or not that particular word or phrase is clickable.

If you mess with the natural appearance of a link, you lose that instant recognition. People have to stop and think (and often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to

often click) to figure out what your colors mean. I have watched countless people try to navigate websites and spend half their time figuring out what's a link and what's not. They have no way of knowing.

In addition, people scan a page for links. They like to be active on the internet, and they like to know what they can do. When they recognize a link in your copy, it's a clear signal of someplace to go. Visitors want to know what their options are. It's not a good idea to make life difficult. They'll appreciate coming across a site that's easy to use and doesn't try to confuse them (for once!).

It is becoming more acceptable to use other colors for your text links, as long as they remain underlined. But if you can, it's still best to use blue. This is because so many people use underlined, colored text on their sites that is NOT linked. Visitors have a tendency to get confused. They never know what to expect. With blue, it's obvious.

Some people have brought up the point that if we stick to the status quo, there will never be any improvements in the system.

My answer: In a medium like the web, forward movement will never be a problem. The web continues to push ahead, regardless of whether your site jumps on the bandwagon or not. There will always be new growth, no matter what your site does