Setting Background Color of a Link Using CSS

Changing the background color of a link using CSS enhances its visibility and improves user interaction. This technique is useful for navigation menus, call-to-action buttons, and highlighted links.

The CSS background-color property allows you to set a custom background for a link (<a> tag). Below is a basic example:

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/* Set background color for all links */
a {
  background-color: yellow;
  padding: 5px;
  text-decoration: none;
  color: black;
}

Examples

Example 1. Setting a Background Color for a Link

In this example, we set a yellow background for links while removing the underline.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <style>
    a {
      background-color: yellow;
      padding: 5px;
      text-decoration: none;
      color: black;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p><a href="https://www.example.com">Visit Example</a></p>
</body>
</html>

Output:

Example 2. Changing Background Color on Hover

In this example, we change the background color when the user hovers over the link.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <style>
    a {
      background-color: lightblue;
      padding: 5px;
      text-decoration: none;
      color: black;
      transition: background-color 0.3s ease;
    }

    a:hover {
      background-color: blue;
      color: white;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p><a href="https://www.example.com">Hover Over Me</a></p>
</body>
</html>

Output:

Example 3. Styling a Link to Look Like a Button

In this example, we create a button-like link with a background color, padding, and rounded corners.

index.html

</>
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <style>
    a.button {
      display: inline-block;
      background-color: green;
      color: white;
      padding: 10px 20px;
      text-decoration: none;
      border-radius: 5px;
      font-size: 16px;
      font-weight: bold;
      text-align: center;
      transition: background-color 0.3s ease;
    }

    a.button:hover {
      background-color: darkgreen;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p><a href="https://www.example.com" class="button">Click Me</a></p>
</body>
</html>

Output:

Conclusion

Using the background-color property, you can easily customize links to improve visibility and enhance user interaction. You can also apply hover effects and style links as buttons to create a better user experience.