How come my link is overlooked?

Question

I'm fairly new to designing. As of now, I have this design:

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As you can see there is a small link in the upper right corner (Upload Prenda Link). When clicked, it toggles the an uploading div to look like this:

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and vice versa..

The link itself looks like the user will not be able to see it immediately or he/she may overlook it while using the web page.

How can I call attention to this link so it will not be overlooked?

Answer 1

The problem with your link is proximity and emphasis.

If you want people to notice it you need to add design to the entire page such as background colors to direct the user to different parts. That is a starting point for adding emphasis to the Upload Prenda.

Depending on what you do with backgrounds, graphics, and the design you may also need to adjust the Proximity. This means to move the element closer to the rest of the content, so a user can understand they are related. If you look at Gestalt Proximity you'll see the orange dots in different grouping patterns and proximity to each other. In your current design it is as if you have a group of dots at the top of the page, another group in the middle, and then a lone dot "Upload Prenda" off on the side. It needs to be grouped either visually, spatially, or both with the rest of the content.

I hope this helps you.

Answer 2

The simplest way in my opinion is simple - underline the link!

Since older days when links were invented, they were all underlined and easy to recognise. Underlining was the simplest, most obvious, unambiguous way of displaying links.

Then this new trend came in and, for some reason, sites started removing the underlines. Maybe because they were perceived "boring", "old-fashioned", "ugly", whatever. Unfortunately, the result is the constant confusion battling the user to guess whether this or that is still a link or not. And then, even worse, underlining became used for other purposes than links. To have the confusion reach its perfection :)

So my advice is simple:

• If the purpose of your site is to impress the user with unique beauty and style, e.g. if you are web designer looking for job, by all means use your creativity and originality.

• If, on the other hand, your site's purpose is practical and functional, and, most important, is meant to be simple to use, please put the UX and usability before the beauty, and underline your links. And don't underline anything else.

Sites like amazon or ebay are not beautiful but they work.