Visited link style

After you follow the citation link once, browsers remember—the dashed underline signals “already read.”

Primary source: Lichen atlas (2019 field season) — cross-check figures in appendix C.

Widely Supported

typography:visitedno-js

Quick implementation

a.cite {
  color: var(--accent);
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-underline-offset: 0.2em;
}
a.cite:visited {
  color: color-mix(in oklch, var(--accent) 55%, var(--muted));
  text-decoration-style: dashed;
}

Prompt this to your LLM

Reading lists and footnotes.

You are styling citation links in academic-style content.

Goal: Unvisited links use accent color; visited links are muted and use a dashed underline.

Constraints:
- Only :link and :visited rules; keep contrast ≥ 4.5:1 on both states against the card background.
- Do not rely on color alone: change text-decoration-style.

Return CSS.

Why this matters in 2026

Readers still juggle dozens of tabs; visited styling reduces duplicate clicks in long research sessions.

The logic

Browsers limit which properties :visited may change; color and text-decoration are safe bets.

Accessibility & performance

Never leak visited history to JS; privacy-preserving styling stays in CSS.