A11y action > Update Link component documentation to include underline style
Proposal
Add documentation to our "Link" component that ensures that links within the main content area that are inline with text must stand out with an underline.
Background
Removing the underline is not recommended for links in the main content area of a document, because people with low vision may not be able to distinguish the color of the text from the color of the links before hovering over them with a mouse or tabbing to them with a keyboard.
This is one of my anchor points to help differentiate when links should have an underline. When they’re “in the main content area,” and inline with text I think they MUST stand out with an underline.
Adding to the previous comment, here’s why I wouldn’t underline some links:
Sighted users will understand that items are clickable menu items if the menu itself is styled in a way that makes it obvious it is a navigation menu. This method is somewhat difficult to pin down in terms of what it means, because there are many ways to design a navigation menu, all of which can look like navigation menus, and design trends change over time, so future navigation menus may look different from today's navigation menus. The short version is this: if it looks like a navigation menu, the links are sufficiently distinguished from the surrounding text, and there is no need to underline the links.
Source: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-design/-/issues/1466#note_519600110, https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-design/-/issues/1466#note_519600955
accessibility ~"Category:FE/UX Foundations"