How to make text look clickable: A UX guide

When we navigate the web, we rely on UI elements like buttons and icons. But text? It’s just as powerful — often referred to as clickable text.

But clickable text isn’t just about navigation; it can trigger actions like submitting a form, copying text, or even opening a modal. And just like a button needs to look like it can be pressed, text needs to be designed for interaction.

In this article, I’ll talk about how to make text look clickable — what works, what doesn’t, and when it’s the best choice over other UI elements.

Why does clickable text matter for UX?

Clickable text is one of the primary ways users interact with digital interfaces. The challenge? Making sure clickable text stands out from the regular, non-clickable text.

When text is designed to look clickable, it sends a strong visual cue — essentially yelling — “CLICK ME!” If your clickable text doesn’t do that, is it really clickable? Not really.

Users instinctively look for familiar cues when navigating. If the clickable text doesn’t stand out — through color, underlining, or other visual signals — users might overlook it entirely, leading to frustration and missed interactions.

About interaction costs

Every time a user has to pause and think, “Is this clickable?” it adds friction to their journey. If the interaction cost is too high — meaning users struggle to identify links or hesitate before clicking — they might abandon the task altogether. Lowering this cost ensures a smoother, more intuitive experience. Low interaction cost on the clickable text also:

• Boosts engagement & click-through rates (CTR) — When clickable text is easy to recognize, users interact with it more confidently, leading to increased engagement and higher CTR
• Enhances accessibility — Well-designed clickable text with clear contrast and recognizable link styles ensures usability for all users, including those with visual impairments or color blindness

About affordances

In the case of clickable text, affordances are the cues that indicate to users that they can interact with it. These can be as simple as underlines, color changes, or even subtle hover effects that give the text an interactive feel. Just as a door handle signals that it can be pulled or pushed, clickable text needs to signal that it can be clicked.

Users might hesitate when these affordances are absent or unclear, adding unnecessary friction to their experience. By clearly showing that text is clickable, you reduce cognitive load and make navigation smoother.

What makes text clickable?

Designers need to consider several factors when making text interactive, including typography, color choices, and hover effects. The ultimate goal is to reduce interaction cost — the cognitive and physical effort required for users to complete a task.

When clickable elements are obvious, users navigate effortlessly. But when they have to second-guess whether something is interactive, frustration creeps in. The best clickable text is clear, intuitive, and effortless to use.

Are all clickable texts blue?

Short answer — No. But blue has been the default hyperlink color for decades. Early browsers like Mosaic set the standard with blue for unvisited links and purple for visited links. And Google follows this convention even today:

Why blue?
Blue has become synonymous with clickable text due to its strong visual impact and historical use across web design. It’s a color that naturally attracts attention without being overly aggressive. Early web designers chose blue for its clear visibility on light-colored backgrounds, and this practice became a standard. Over time, blue became associated with interactivity, making it a go-to choice for links.

Blue is actually a great choice because:

1. High contrast — Blue stands out against most backgrounds
2. Accessibility — Blue is easily recognizable, even for users with red-green color blindness
3. Familiarity — Users have been trained to associate blue with links for years

That said, clickable text doesn’t have to be blue — I’ll talk more about that in the next section. The key is to maintain clear contrast and consistency with your brand’s color scheme.

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Clickability for paragraphs

When designing clickable text for paragraphs, the goal is often to limit the visible text while giving users the option to read more if they choose. Instead of displaying the full content upfront, adding a “Read more” link + an arrow (→) at the end of the snippet helps set expectations and guide users toward additional content:

However, the “Read more” link must clearly look clickable — not just blend in as regular text. Use visual cues like underlining, a different color, or a hover effect to reinforce interactivity. This ensures users instantly recognize it as an action they can take rather than just part of the paragraph.

Clickability for touchscreens

Clickable text isn’t just about visual cues — it also needs to be easy to tap on touchscreens. Unlike a cursor, which allows for precise clicking, fingers are less accurate, so spacing and touch target size plays a crucial role in usability.

Optimal touch target size

For a seamless touchscreen experience:

• Apple recommends a minimum touch target of 44×44px
• Google suggests at least 48×48dp in Material Design
• Spacing between links should be at least 8px to prevent accidental taps

If clickable text is too small or packed too closely, users may struggle to tap the right link — especially on mobile devices. To improve tap accuracy:

• Increase line height for better readability and spacing
• Add padding around tappable text to extend its touch target without making it visually bulky
• Avoid placing multiple links too close together, especially in paragraphs

By optimizing touch targets and spacing, you ensure clickable text is just as effective on touchscreens as it is on desktop

Tips: How to make a text look clickable?

Designing clickable text sounds straightforward — until it isn’t. Users expect interactive elements to be obvious, yet many websites still hide links in plain sight. Whether it’s text that blends into the background or clickable elements that look just like regular content, these missteps can create unnecessary friction.

One key concept in UX that plays into this is affordances — the cues that tell users what an element does. A button that looks raised invites pressing, just as a link should visually suggest interactivity. If the text doesn’t signal that it’s clickable, users might not engage with it at all.

So, how do you ensure users can instantly recognize clickable text? Here are some key tips to improve clarity, usability, and accessibility:

Choose the right colors for visual clarity

Clickable text should be visually distinct from surrounding content, ensuring users can instantly recognize it as interactive. This can be achieved through contrasting colors, underlines, or other design elements that differentiate it from static text. Some key considerations:

• Maintain brand consistency — Clickable text should align with your brand’s color palette. For example, LogRocket uses purple for links:

  

   

• Ensure clear contrast — If static and interactive text have the same color, users won’t know where to click. So, ensure there is a clear color contrast between the two texts
• Accessibility for color blindness — Consider users with color blindness by ensuring there’s sufficient contrast between clickable text and the background. WCAG suggests a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text to ensure it’s readable for all users

Use hover effects for visual feedback

Interactive elements should respond when users engage with them. Some common hover effects include:

• Underline on hover — A simple underline appearing on hover makes it obvious that text is clickable:

  

   

• Color change on hover – If the mouse moves past a text and the color changes, that would surely give the users confirmation that the text is indeed clickable:

  

   

• Opacity decrease on hover — If the mouse hovers past a text and the opacity reduces, that would signify to the users the text is interactive:

  

   

• Background highlight on hover — When you hover over menu items (like “File,” Edit,” “View”) on Google Docs, a dark or slightly lighter shade appears behind the text. This provides a clear visual cue that the element is interactive and clickable:

  

   

• Text moves with cursor on hover — This unique interaction creates a dynamic effect where the text shifts in response to the cursor’s movement within its boundary. Instead of a static hover state, the text follows the cursor slightly, making the interaction feel more engaging and interactive:

  

What to avoid when designing clickable text?

Even with the best intentions, clickable text can sometimes fall short. Poor design choices can make links hard to spot, confusing to use, or even inaccessible to some users. Avoid these common pitfalls to ensure your clickable text is effective and user-friendly:

• Relying solely on color to indicate clickability — Color is important, but it shouldn’t be the only indicator of clickability. Some users have color blindness, and screen settings may distort colors. Mix colors with visual cues like underlines, bold text, or icons to reinforce clickability
• Underlining non-clickable text — Underlines are a strong visual cue for links. If you underline non-clickable text (like subheadings), users may get confused
• Overusing clickable text — Too many clickable texts can overwhelm users and dilute the importance of each link. Prioritize essential links and keep the number of clickable texts manageable to guide users more effectively
• Inconsistent link styles — If some links are underlined and others look like buttons, users may struggle to understand the logic. Be consistent with link styles
• Poor contrast — Low-contrast clickable text can make navigation difficult, especially for users with visual impairments. Follow accessibility guidelines to ensure readability
• Making clickable text hard to click – Parallax effects can be engaging, but they shouldn’t hurt usability. Clickable text should stay stable and easy to click, avoiding adding a clickable text in unexpected movement or scrolljacking that disrupts interaction

Other ways to indicate clickability

While text formatting like color changes and underlines are common ways to indicate clickability, there are additional techniques that can be of help to enhance clickability:

• Icons — Small icons like arrows or external link symbols can reinforce the idea that text is interactive. For example, a small arrow next to a link can indicate that it leads to another page or section, or a house icon next to the word “Home” can suggest that the text links to the homepage
• Buttons — If a text-based action is crucial, consider using a button instead. Why? Because buttons provide a stronger visual cue and are often associated with direct actions, such as submitting a form or triggering an event
• Tooltips or labels — Providing additional context when hovering over text (e.g., a small tooltip saying ‘Opens in a new tab’) can help manage user expectations
• Ghost links — This design trend has received some backlash in the UX community because it can make it difficult for users to recognize clickable links. However, ghost links aren’t inherently bad — they just need to be used in the right places. They work best in navigation bars and footers, where users naturally expect text to be clickable. But using a ghost link in inline body text can be frustrating, as it blends too much with regular content, making it hard to identify as interactive

Does clickable text work differently in dark mode?

Not really. The same principles apply in both light and dark modes — clickable text should be clear, distinct, and interactive. The main difference is the color. In dark mode, desaturated colors work better to avoid glare.

For example, Google uses #180EA4 in light mode but desaturates the color to #87A9F9 in dark mode. The key is to balance contrast for readability and accessibility:

Clickable text in button vs. inline link format

Sometimes clickable text is inside buttons and other times, it’s just a simple hyperlink. But when should you use which?

Buttons work best for:

• Primary actions (e.g., “Sign up,” “Download”)
• Actions that require emphasis

Inline links work best for:

• Navigation within content (e.g., “Read more about this topic”)
• Secondary actions that don’t require a strong call to action

Conclusion: How to make a text look clickable

Ask yourself these questions to ensure you’ve got it all right:

• Is the clickable text visually distinct from non-clickable text?
• If underlines are removed, does the text still indicate clickability through color contrast, bolding, or hover effects?
• Are the colors of my links consistent with the brand’s color palette, or are you just using the traditional ‘blue’?
• Whatever color you choose, does the clickable text have enough contrast against the background (at least a 4.5:1 ratio for readability)?
• Is the clickable text clearly styled as interactive, avoiding confusion with regular text?

A well-designed link isn’t just about making something clickable — it’s about making sure users immediately recognize it as clickable. By applying these principles, you ensure that clickable text is not just functional but also intuitive and accessible for every user!

Clickable texts shouldn’t be complicated for users. Simply making them stand out from regular text can do the trick, but there’s more to it than that.

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