what's the point of additional hover effect beyond `cursor: pointer`?

Question

cursor: pointer

is the way to indicate that an element is clickable.

So what is the point of additional hover effects, such as highlights?

Answer 1

Highlight helps to identify borders of clickable element thus user can estimate distance to another clickable element and quickly relocate cursor to it.

Answer 2

People with attention disorders (or simply distracted) may not view the change. On top of thta, users can override the cursor behavior. Thus, relying on cursor alone may not be enough. For example:

Custom CSS: Users with a knowledge of CSS can create their own custom styles to override the cursor style on a webpage. They can use the cursor property to set their preferred cursor style for specific elements on the page. Users can apply such styles using browser extensions or developer tools.

Browser Extensions: There are browser extensions available that allow users to customize their browsing experience, including cursor styles. These extensions often provide a user-friendly interface for changing cursor styles on websites.

Browser Accessibility Features: Some browsers also offer accessibility features that allow users to override website styles, including cursor styles. Users can explore their browser's accessibility settings for options related to cursor customization.

Finally, changes on hover such as changes of color, highlighting, add/remove shadows or other techniques offer a quick scan of clickable elements. This is very important in marketing, as well as in any situation that requires that the links are specially visible.