diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
index 9b8833c1..48d0a31f 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/shell/Shell.css
@@ -28,10 +28,20 @@
   flex-wrap: wrap;
   gap: 1em;
 }
+/* `display: flex` + `min-height` rather than more vertical padding: a
+   link's own height is text-line-height, and padding alone would have
+   pushed the border-bottom indicator away from the text to hit 2.75em
+   — flex centres the text within the full-height box instead, so the
+   indicator still sits directly under it. Same 2.75em (~44px, WCAG
+   2.5.5) floor as the rest of the shared kit — this is the primary
+   nav, the single most-clicked/tapped element in the whole shell, so
+   it gets the floor same as everything else, not a smaller one. */
 .shell-nav-link {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  min-height: 2.75em;
   color: var(--muted);
   text-decoration: none;
-  padding: 0.25em 0;
   border-bottom: 2px solid transparent;
 }
 .shell-nav-link:hover {