Cta Styles
A taxonomy of button styles by hierarchy and intent. Distinct visual treatments are how a UI signals which action is primary, secondary, optional, or destructive. Conflating these styles (e.g.…
$ aoe install @community/taxonomy-cta-stylesProjection
Always in _index.xml · the agent never has to ask for this.
CtaStyles [taxonomy] v1.0.0
A taxonomy of button styles by hierarchy and intent. Distinct visual treatments are how a UI signals which action is primary, secondary, optional, or destructive. Conflating these styles (e.g. two primary buttons in one view) is the most common cause of weak action hierarchy.
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as adjacent / supporting.
CtaStyles [taxonomy] v1.0.0
A taxonomy of button styles by hierarchy and intent. Distinct visual treatments are how a UI signals which action is primary, secondary, optional, or destructive. Conflating these styles (e.g. two primary buttons in one view) is the most common cause of weak action hierarchy.
Label
Call-To-Action (Button) Style Hierarchy
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Members
- primary
- secondary
- tertiary
- ghost
- link
- destructive
- destructive-secondary
- icon-only
Styles
- Primary:
- Purpose: The single most important action on a view — submit, continue, save, sign-up.
- Visual: Solid filled background with brand color; high-contrast text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: AT MOST ONE primary button visible per logical action region.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-brand-500); color: var(--color-on-brand); border: none; weight: 500–600
- Secondary:
- Purpose: Important alternative action that pairs with primary — cancel, back, learn more.
- Visual: Outlined or low-fill background; brand-colored or neutral text.
- Density Rule: Typically paired with primary; multiple secondaries acceptable for equal-weight options.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--color-border); color: var(--color-text-primary)
- Tertiary:
- Purpose: Optional or low-priority action — view details, see all, dismiss.
- Visual: No background, no border; brand-colored text with subtle hover.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: none; color: var(--color-text-secondary)
- Ghost:
- Purpose: Inline action that should recede until hovered/focused — header utility actions, table row actions.
- Visual: Transparent background and border; only text or icon visible at rest; subtle bg on hover.
- Notes: Often used for icon-only buttons where the icon must be discoverable but not visually heavy.
- Link:
- Purpose: Inline navigational action that looks like text — 'Learn more', 'Read the docs'.
- Visual: Brand-colored text with optional underline; same line-height as surrounding copy.
- A11y: Use <a href=> for navigation; use
- Destructive:
- Purpose: Irreversible negative action — delete, remove, unsubscribe.
- Visual: Solid red/error fill; white text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: Pair with confirmation dialog (see @community/principle-error-prevention-and-recovery). Never make destructive primary on default view; require user-initiated reveal.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-destructive-500); color: white; weight: 500
- Destructive Secondary:
- Purpose: Cancel button on a destructive confirmation modal — softer than primary destructive but distinguishable.
- Visual: Outlined red border, red text on transparent bg.
- Icon Only:
- Purpose: Compact action where space is constrained — toolbar, table row, header utility.
- Visual: Icon only, optional bg on hover. MUST have aria-label and tooltip.
- A11y: min 44×44 touch target (see @community/value-touch-target-min); aria-label required (see @community/check-aria-label-required).
Invariants
- Within a single decision point (modal footer, form actions row), there must be exactly ONE primary button.
- Destructive primary must never be the visually-emphasized default action — use destructive style only AFTER user explicitly initiates the destructive flow.
- Link buttons (
- All button styles must satisfy WCAG 2.2 AA contrast at default, hover, focus, active, and disabled states (4.5:1 text, 3:1 non-text UI).
Loaded when retrieval picks the atom as a focal / direct hit.
CtaStyles [taxonomy] v1.0.0
A taxonomy of button styles by hierarchy and intent. Distinct visual treatments are how a UI signals which action is primary, secondary, optional, or destructive. Conflating these styles (e.g. two primary buttons in one view) is the most common cause of weak action hierarchy.
Label
Call-To-Action (Button) Style Hierarchy
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Members
- primary
- secondary
- tertiary
- ghost
- link
- destructive
- destructive-secondary
- icon-only
Styles
- Primary:
- Purpose: The single most important action on a view — submit, continue, save, sign-up.
- Visual: Solid filled background with brand color; high-contrast text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: AT MOST ONE primary button visible per logical action region.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-brand-500); color: var(--color-on-brand); border: none; weight: 500–600
- Secondary:
- Purpose: Important alternative action that pairs with primary — cancel, back, learn more.
- Visual: Outlined or low-fill background; brand-colored or neutral text.
- Density Rule: Typically paired with primary; multiple secondaries acceptable for equal-weight options.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--color-border); color: var(--color-text-primary)
- Tertiary:
- Purpose: Optional or low-priority action — view details, see all, dismiss.
- Visual: No background, no border; brand-colored text with subtle hover.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: none; color: var(--color-text-secondary)
- Ghost:
- Purpose: Inline action that should recede until hovered/focused — header utility actions, table row actions.
- Visual: Transparent background and border; only text or icon visible at rest; subtle bg on hover.
- Notes: Often used for icon-only buttons where the icon must be discoverable but not visually heavy.
- Link:
- Purpose: Inline navigational action that looks like text — 'Learn more', 'Read the docs'.
- Visual: Brand-colored text with optional underline; same line-height as surrounding copy.
- A11y: Use <a href=> for navigation; use
- Destructive:
- Purpose: Irreversible negative action — delete, remove, unsubscribe.
- Visual: Solid red/error fill; white text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: Pair with confirmation dialog (see @community/principle-error-prevention-and-recovery). Never make destructive primary on default view; require user-initiated reveal.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-destructive-500); color: white; weight: 500
- Destructive Secondary:
- Purpose: Cancel button on a destructive confirmation modal — softer than primary destructive but distinguishable.
- Visual: Outlined red border, red text on transparent bg.
- Icon Only:
- Purpose: Compact action where space is constrained — toolbar, table row, header utility.
- Visual: Icon only, optional bg on hover. MUST have aria-label and tooltip.
- A11y: min 44×44 touch target (see @community/value-touch-target-min); aria-label required (see @community/check-aria-label-required).
Invariants
- Within a single decision point (modal footer, form actions row), there must be exactly ONE primary button.
- Destructive primary must never be the visually-emphasized default action — use destructive style only AFTER user explicitly initiates the destructive flow.
- Link buttons (
- All button styles must satisfy WCAG 2.2 AA contrast at default, hover, focus, active, and disabled states (4.5:1 text, 3:1 non-text UI).
Relations
related: [@community/taxonomy-form-input-types, @community/category-button-hierarchy, @community/value-touch-target-min, @community/fact-ios-button-style-hierarchy]
Label
Call-To-Action (Button) Style Hierarchy
Meta
- License: Apache-2.0
- License Provenance: package-authorship-claim
Members
- primary
- secondary
- tertiary
- ghost
- link
- destructive
- destructive-secondary
- icon-only
Styles
- Primary:
- Purpose: The single most important action on a view — submit, continue, save, sign-up.
- Visual: Solid filled background with brand color; high-contrast text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: AT MOST ONE primary button visible per logical action region.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-brand-500); color: var(--color-on-brand); border: none; weight: 500–600
- Secondary:
- Purpose: Important alternative action that pairs with primary — cancel, back, learn more.
- Visual: Outlined or low-fill background; brand-colored or neutral text.
- Density Rule: Typically paired with primary; multiple secondaries acceptable for equal-weight options.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--color-border); color: var(--color-text-primary)
- Tertiary:
- Purpose: Optional or low-priority action — view details, see all, dismiss.
- Visual: No background, no border; brand-colored text with subtle hover.
- Example Tokens: bg: transparent; border: none; color: var(--color-text-secondary)
- Ghost:
- Purpose: Inline action that should recede until hovered/focused — header utility actions, table row actions.
- Visual: Transparent background and border; only text or icon visible at rest; subtle bg on hover.
- Notes: Often used for icon-only buttons where the icon must be discoverable but not visually heavy.
- Link:
- Purpose: Inline navigational action that looks like text — 'Learn more', 'Read the docs'.
- Visual: Brand-colored text with optional underline; same line-height as surrounding copy.
- A11y: Use <a href=> for navigation; use
- Destructive:
- Purpose: Irreversible negative action — delete, remove, unsubscribe.
- Visual: Solid red/error fill; white text; bold weight.
- Density Rule: Pair with confirmation dialog (see @community/principle-error-prevention-and-recovery). Never make destructive primary on default view; require user-initiated reveal.
- Example Tokens: bg: var(--color-destructive-500); color: white; weight: 500
- Destructive Secondary:
- Purpose: Cancel button on a destructive confirmation modal — softer than primary destructive but distinguishable.
- Visual: Outlined red border, red text on transparent bg.
- Icon Only:
- Purpose: Compact action where space is constrained — toolbar, table row, header utility.
- Visual: Icon only, optional bg on hover. MUST have aria-label and tooltip.
- A11y: min 44×44 touch target (see @community/value-touch-target-min); aria-label required (see @community/check-aria-label-required).
Invariants
- Within a single decision point (modal footer, form actions row), there must be exactly ONE primary button.
- Destructive primary must never be the visually-emphasized default action — use destructive style only AFTER user explicitly initiates the destructive flow.
- Link buttons (
- All button styles must satisfy WCAG 2.2 AA contrast at default, hover, focus, active, and disabled states (4.5:1 text, 3:1 non-text UI).
Source
aoe-engine/examples/frontend-design/primes/compiled/@community/taxonomy-cta-styles/atom.yaml