Behaviour

A link should have an underline mainly on hover, so the user understands that the link is clickable.

• The exception is when a link is hard to see in a body text, and in that case the link can be underlined at all time

Icon placement

See Pattern: Icons and actions

Do's and don'ts

• If the background is in a darker color, it’s recommended to have the link in white with an underline. The text should be in a medium size. 
• Button versus links: In most cases buttons are used for actions and links for navigation. 

• Don’t use arrows in a list of links, because it can be interpreted as an accordion. 
• Avoid making links of a complete section of body text

Use a verb in the active form that describes the user’s action

If the user is supposed to perform an action when clicking the link, try to use a verb in the active form that describes the action. It's fine to use two verb phrases, if the user must log in or go to a page to read more before performing the main action.

Never use the phrase "click here". Neither by itself nor in a longer phrase. It makes it unclear to the user what will happen. “Click here” links are also inaccessible for users with screen readers. Furthermore, "click here" doesn’t work for users that don't use a mouse or use a phone or tablet to navigate the site.

Upper and lower case

Don’t start each word in headings and labels with upper case. Only use upper case in:

• The first letter of the first word
• The first letter of proper names
• Abbreviations

Do's and don'ts

• Start saving for your pension
• Read more about mortgages
• Become a corporate customer
• Log in and invest
• Read more and apply for a mortgage

• Click here or Click here
• Click here for more information about mortgage

Include only the necessary words

Sometimes the link can be a complete sentence, but don't make the sentence too long. Never include several sentences. Don't include preceding articles or punctuation marks.

Do's and don'ts

• Unfortunately, this feature does not work in the browser Internet Explorer. Here you can read about the browsers we recommend.

• Unfortunately, this feature does not work in the browser Internet Explorer. Here you can read about the browsers we recommend.
• Unfortunately, this feature does not work in the browser Internet Explorer. Here you can read about the browsers we recommend.
• Unfortunately, this feature does not work in the browser Internet Explorer. Here you can read about the browsers we recommend.

Should I place the link in or after the text?

The purpose of the text decides the placement of the links. If the user is supposed to read the text in its entirety, place the link after the text or in a separate link list. If the user reads the text to act, you can place the links directly in the text.

Example of link in the text

When the purpose of the text is to help the user navigate forward, you can put the link directly in the text.

You can find the agreement under My agreements.

Example of a link outside of the text

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Adding items to a list

Although links are primarily to be used for navigation, it happens that we use linked design for actions that the customer can perform. When the link indicates that it can add more of the same item to a list, you may begin the link text with a plus sign. For instance: + Add another company

However, links that indicate that the user can delete an item should not begin with a minus.

Do's and don'ts

• + Add a new country

• - Delete the country

States

• Text: 16 px medium
• Link: See link colour on Colour page
• Hover underline: Dark blue 2
• Visited: Purple

Colours

• Link
• Dark blue 2
• Purple