Web/CSS/ link

The :link CSS pseudo-class represents an element that has not yet been visited. It matches every unvisited <a>, <area>, or <link> element that has an href attribute.

/* Selects any <a> that has not been visited yet */
a:link {
  color: red;
}

Styles defined by the :link pseudo-class will be overridden by any subsequent link-related pseudo-class (:active, :hover, or :visited) that has 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.

Note: Use :any-link to select an element independent of whether it has been visited or not.

Syntax

: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

<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

a:link {
  background-color: gold;
  color: green;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of ':link' in that specification.	Living Standard
Selectors Level 4The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Working Draft	No change.
Selectors Level 3The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Recommendation	No change.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Recommendation	Lift the restriction to only apply it for `<a>` element.
CSS Level 1The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`:link`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 3	Opera Full support 3.5	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 1.5	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support