How to Change the Link Color in WordPress (Beginner’s Guide)

By Naveed Ahmed | Reviewed by Syed Balkhi | June 19, 2024 | Reader Disclosure

Do you want to learn how to change the link color in WordPress? Changing the link color can make it easier for visitors to find their way around your website. Creating a unique color scheme can also help your site stand out.

In this article, I’ll show you how to change the link color in WordPress, step-by-step. I’ve been working with WordPress for over 15 years, and I’ve helped countless clients and users customize their websites to their exact specifications. I’ll share some of the key insights I’ve learned along the way to make sure you have a seamless and enjoyable experience.

Why Change the Link Color in WordPress?

When you add a link in WordPress, your theme will automatically determine the color of that link. Sometimes, your WordPress theme’s default colors will be exactly what you want, but you may need more control over how the links look.

For example, you might want to change the link color to match your brand or custom logo. Or you may want to boost the color contrast to make your site more accessible to readers with limited vision.

With some themes, you can change the link color in the theme options panel or WordPress theme customizer, so make sure you check these places first. It’s also worth looking at your theme’s documentation.

That being said, let’s see how to change the link color on your WordPress website, no matter what theme you are using. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use:

Method 1: Change the Color of Individual Links

Sometimes, you may want to change the color of individual links. For example, you might want to draw the visitor’s attention toward the call to action on a landing page. To do this, simply highlight the link you want to customize. Then, click on the arrow icon in the mini toolbar and select ‘Highlight.’

You can now either select ‘Background’ or ‘Text’ depending on the change you want to make. With that done, go ahead and select the color you want to use. To customize more links, simply repeat these steps. When you are happy with how the links look, click on either ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to make your changes live.

Method 2: Change Link Color in WordPress Using WPCode (Recommended)

The easiest way to change the link color is by adding custom CSS to your WordPress site. Often, you will find code snippets in WordPress tutorials with instructions to add them to your theme’s functions.php file.

The biggest problem is that even a tiny mistake in the custom code snippet can break your WordPress site and make it inaccessible. You will also lose all your customizations the next time you update your WordPress theme. That’s where WPCode comes in.

This free plugin makes it easy to add custom CSS without putting your site at risk. The first thing you need to do is install and activate the free WPCode plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to Code Snippets » Add Snippet. Here, simply hover your mouse over ‘Add Your Custom Code.’ When it appears, click on ‘Use snippet.’ To start, type in a title for the custom code snippet. This can be anything that helps you identify the snippet in the WordPress dashboard. After that, open the ‘Code Type’ dropdown and select ‘CSS Snippet.’

You can now go ahead and add a custom CSS snippet to the code box. Let’s look at some of the different snippets you can use.

Change the Link Color Across Your WordPress Website

To start, you may want to customize the overall link color. This is the color that visitors will see before they click on a link. To do this, simply add the following snippet into the WPCode code box:

a {
     color: #FFA500;
}

In the above example, the # hex code will change the link color to orange, so you will need to change #FFA500 to the color you want to use. If you are not sure what hex code to use, then you can explore different colors and get their codes on the HTML Color Codes website.

Meanwhile, if you need some help picking a link color, then please see our guide on how to choose a perfect color scheme.

When you are happy with how your code looks, click on the ‘Inactive’ toggle so that it shows ‘Active’ instead. Finally, click on ‘Save Snippet’ to make the CSS snippet live. Now, if you visit your WordPress website, you will see the new link color in action.

Change the Link Hover Color in WordPress

Another option is to change the link hover color. This is the color that appears when a visitor hovers their mouse over a link, so it’s a great way to catch their attention and improve your click-through rate. To make this change, simply paste the following snippet into WPCode’s editor:

a:hover {
     color: #FF0000;
     text-decoration: underline;
}

The code above will change the link color to red and underline the text when visitors hover over it. As before, you can change the #FF0000 hex code to any color you want to use. When you are ready to go live, you can publish the code snippet by following the same process described above.

Change the Link Color After Visit in WordPress

Next, you may want to change the link color after a user clicks the link. This can help visitors find their way around your WordPress blog by showing which links they’ve already clicked. You can use the CSS code below to change the visited link color:

a:visited {
     color: #0000FF;
}

As always, make sure you change the blue #0000FF hex code to the color you want to use in your links. With that done, click on the ‘Inactive’ toggle so that it changes to ‘Active.’ Then, just click on ‘Save Snippet’ to make the code live on your site, blog, or online store.

Change the Color of Your Navigation Links in WordPress

Finally, you may also want to customize the links in your navigation menu. For more details, see our guide on how to style WordPress navigation menus.

Method 3: Change the Link Color Without Editing CSS

Instead of adding CSS code directly to your website, you can use a CSS styling plugin to visually edit your site. We recommend using the CSS Hero plugin. It’s very beginner-friendly and lets you visually customize your website, similar to a drag and drop page builder.

After installing the plugin, click the ‘Proceed to Product Activation’ button to activate it and connect your account. This will take you to a screen where you can enter your username and password. Then, simply follow the onscreen instructions to verify your account. After that, CSS Hero will take you back to the WordPress dashboard automatically.

Next, click the ‘Customize with CSS Hero’ button at the top of the WordPress admin toolbar. This will open your website with CSS Hero running on top of it. CSS Hero uses a What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. This means you can click on any content to open a toolbar that lets you customize that content.

To get started, click on an example of the link that you want to edit. In this guide, we will customize blog post links. After selecting a link, click the ‘Typography’ menu item and choose a new color for your links. You can either select a color from the list or add a hex code.

Change the Color of Your WordPress Navigation Menu

Next, you can use CSS Hero to create a custom navigation menu by changing its link color. Simply hover over your navigation menu and click any of the menu items. Then, select the ‘Typography’ option. You can now choose the color that you want to use instead.

Once you have finished changing the link colors, simply click the ‘Save and Publish’ button to make your changes live.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you learn how to change the link color in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to change the text color in WordPress or our expert pick of the best WordPress design examples you should check out.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

FAQs

How do I change the link color in my WordPress theme?

There are three main ways to change the link color in your WordPress theme:

1. Use your theme’s customizer: Many WordPress themes provide an option to change link colors within their customizer. You can usually find this option under the ‘Appearance’ or ‘Customize’ menu in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Add custom CSS using WPCode: This is the most flexible and reliable method. Use the free WPCode plugin to add custom CSS to your site without risking breaking your theme.

3. Use a visual CSS editor plugin: Plugins like CSS Hero allow you to visually customize your website’s design, including link colors, without having to write any code.

Can I change the color of individual links?

Yes, you can change the color of individual links within your WordPress editor. Simply highlight the link, click the arrow icon in the mini toolbar, and select ‘Highlight.’ From there, you can choose ‘Background’ or ‘Text’ to change the color of the link.

What is the best way to change the link color for my entire website?

The best way to change the link color for your entire website is to use custom CSS. This allows you to apply the color change globally across all links on your site. The WPCode plugin provides a safe and user-friendly way to add custom CSS without affecting your theme.

What is the difference between a, a:hover, and a:visited in CSS?

These are CSS selectors used to target different states of a link:

a: This selects all links on the page.

a:hover: This selects links when a user hovers their mouse over them.

a:visited: This selects links that the user has already clicked on.

How do I find the hex code for a color I want to use?

You can find the hex code for a color in several ways:

1. Use an online color picker: Websites like HTML Color Codes offer a wide variety of colors with their corresponding hex codes.

2. Use a color picker in your design software: Most design programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, have built-in color pickers that allow you to select a color and get its hex code.

Is it possible to change the link color in my WordPress navigation menu?

Yes, you can change the link color in your WordPress navigation menu. You can either use the CSS Hero plugin or add custom CSS using WPCode to target the specific links within your navigation menu.

How do I know which CSS rules are affecting my link colors?

You can use the ‘Inspect Element’ tool in your web browser to view the CSS rules that are applied to a specific element on your webpage.

What are some best practices for choosing link colors?

Here are some best practices for choosing link colors:

1. Consider accessibility: Choose colors that provide sufficient contrast for users with visual impairments.

2. Use a color palette that aligns with your brand: Select colors that reflect your brand identity and website design.

3. Keep it simple: Avoid using overly complex color schemes that can be confusing for visitors.

Can I change the link color for a specific post or page?

Yes, you can change the link color for a specific post or page by using custom CSS to target that specific page or post. You can add this custom CSS using the WPCode plugin or within the HTML editor of the post or page itself.

What if I want to change the link color in a specific plugin?

Some plugins may have their own CSS styles that affect the link colors. If you want to change the link color within a specific plugin, you can try the following:

1. Check the plugin’s settings: Some plugins offer options to customize their styles, including link colors.

2. Use custom CSS: You can use custom CSS targeting the specific elements within the plugin’s code to change the link color. However, be cautious as modifying plugin CSS can potentially break the plugin’s functionality.

Can I create a hover effect for links using CSS?

Yes, you can create a hover effect for links using CSS. You can change the color, add a background color, or even add an animation to the link when a user hovers over it. Here’s an example of how to create a simple hover effect that changes the link color on hover:

a:hover {
     color: red;
}

Is there a way to change the link color back to the default after a user clicks the link?

Yes, you can use the a:visited selector in CSS to change the color of links after they have been clicked. You can then set the color back to the default or a different color to indicate that the link has been visited.

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