:link

The :link CSS pseudo-class lets you select links inside elements. This will select any link which has not yet been visited, even those already styled using selector with other link-related pseudo-classes like :hover, :active or :visited. In order to appropriately style links, you need to put the :link rule before the other ones, as defined by the LVHA-order: :link — :visited — :hover — :active. The :focus pseudo-class is usually placed right before or right after :hover, depending on the expected effect.

Syntax

:link { style properties }

Examples

a:link {color: slategray;}
.external:link {background-color: lightblue;}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Living Standard
Selectors Level 4 The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Working Draft	No change.
Selectors Level 3 The 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 1 The definition of ':link' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

See also

• :visited, :hover, :active