Links are a very important part of your website.  Links help the user get to where they are going in your site and navigate the web. Without links, all we would have is a lot of one page sites with a lot of information crammed into them.  Needless to say, links are crucial in all websites.  This is why styling links can make or break how your site works.  Most users scan a website instead of reading word for word.  If a link does not stand out to the user, additional information or pages can easily be missed during the scanning process.  Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing a website.

1. Make your links stand out from other text. Everyone recognizes underlined blue text as a link.  If this does not fit into the design of your site, you need to make sure the color you choose for your links stands out from the rest of the content.  Try and designate one color as your link color.  Also, avoid underlining any text that is not a link.  Underlined text as a link has been around for a long time and is considered a link by most users.
2. Change the style of visited links. When you have a site with lots of links, it is helpful to change the color of visited links so users can easily see where they have been. The color difference can be subtle, but should be noticeable at a glance.  
3. Use a call to action. If you need a link to really stand out, style it to stand out on the page.  Have link look like a button or add a graphic that entices the user to click on it. 

   
4. Have meaningful link text. The text used for the link needs to clearly convey to the user what will happen when they click on the link. Avoid using “click here," it's better to have the link text explain what the link does. For example, if you are linking to a registration page the link text should be “Register Now."  The more descriptive the link text, the better for SEO and the user.  Adding title tags also gives the link a description and are essential for screen readers.
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6. Hover state styling.  Changing the style on a link when it is hovered over is a good visual cue that the text is a link.  Adding a hover state is feedback to users that they are currently hovering over a link.
7. Appropriate Icons and images.  Adding the destination site logo helps the user recognize at a glance where the link will take them.  You see this a lot for the gamut of social media sites.  This is also good practice for links that link to a PDF or other kind of document.  This will help the user decide if they want to click a link that will download a document or take them to a new page. 
   
8. Link the site logo to the homepage.  Generally, users know to click on the website logo if they want to return to the homepage.  This rule of thumb applies even if you have a home link in the navigation.  The only time you don't want to do this is on the homepage.  That way, the user knows they are on the homepage.

Well styled links on your site will result in a better user experience.  Users will be more likely to return to your site if they had a good experience rather than a bad experience.  You may only have one change to make a good impression on someone that happened across your website.