128
votes
How to make text look *not* clickable
tl;dr → use familiar patterns
Make the text objects look less like navigational tab controls.
The elements seem unnecessarily divided: Place the search field in the main header.
Make search look ...
- 21.1k
124
votes
How to make text look *not* clickable
Well, since people are trying to interact with this information, I'd use it as an advantage. As mentioned by Mattynabib, it really makes sense.
However, if for some reason you prefer not to, the ...
- 32.7k
92
votes
Accepted
Should a grammatical article be a part of a web link anchor
In carefully edited text, the choice to include the article depends on the meaning. Examples:
I saw a newt yesterday, dark with blue spots. Can anybody help identify it?
— Article not included: ...
60
votes
Accepted
Odd click behavior where my users are clicking non-linked headings
The user might be clicking on it without the expectation of any interaction.
Would you be recording clicks for actions like:
Selecting text to be copied
Mobile users scrolling
Right clicking to open ...
- 576
54
votes
Accepted
Why is it standard for a website logo to navigate to the home page?
Where was this first seen
This practice dates back at least to the earliest days of image hyperlinks.
For example, the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of Yahoo's home page from October 1996 has ...
- 40.4k
52
votes
Accepted
Should I include the word 'this' in an in-paragraph hyperlink?
The idea of 'click here' being a bad idea originated from data about how people visually scan web pages which show that people don't read online: they skim the page to get the key information. If ...
- 4,809
50
votes
Why is it standard for a website logo to navigate to the home page?
It's become standard because everyone does it.
Everyone does it because it's nice to have a 'home' link but it's not something that needs to clutter the menu, either. Hence the idea to just make the ...
- 41.6k
43
votes
How to make text look *not* clickable
The grey text actually makes them look more clickable as they stand out from the rest of the header. I would change them to the same color as the rest of the text (black).
Also, instead of "6 books ...
- 431
42
votes
Accepted
Which anchor text variation provides the best experience?
Your question is complicated in that it's embedded in a bad practice.
This Smashing Magazine article about why your links should never say "Click here" sums it up quite well.
"Click" puts too much ...
- 11.5k
31
votes
How should one differentiate links?
or you can try dotted border; be sure to test it on the users though.
If it's a quick reference and no action (like selecting / scrolling, although you can do it on the pop-up with some effort) is ...
- 1,721
30
votes
Does adding a click count next to a hyperlink enhance the user experience?
The short answer to the high level UX question here is -- it depends -- so here are a few cases why a company like discourse might choose to put click counters next to their hyperlinks along with ...
- 15.8k
27
votes
Accepted
Why do read links turn purple?
Browsers render textlinks blue by default. Jeffrey Zeldman wrote an article stating Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, reached it at random:
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/why-are-...
- 2,588
26
votes
What are pros/cons of using buttons instead of plain links to download a document?
Buttons denotes important actions, therefore they are scarce and noticeable.
Links are common, and you may have a lot of them, since they are supposed to take you to an anchor, whether it's on the ...
- 32.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Does adding a click count next to a hyperlink enhance the user experience?
According to, literally, the first result when you google discourse click count, Jeff Atwood defends the click counter as a valuable signal for users to determine if a link is worth clicking:
The ...
- 342
19
votes
Should a grammatical article be a part of a web link anchor
Usually an article need not be a part of your link.
Except in the cases when it makes a difference in meaning. Usually it will be a definite article, like "The Times", "El Salvador", "Al Jazeera".
...
- 658
18
votes
Why do read links turn purple?
I can't say if this is the actual reason it was chosen, but a reason why purple is a good choice is that, other than red, it has the lowest relative luminocity of any hue.
So, a purple will tend to ...
- 2,656
18
votes
Hyperlink on red background
Try a softer red with a harsh red border - like this:
download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups
- 6,176
16
votes
Accepted
Is there research on whether users know how to open a link in a new tab?
Power users open links in new tabs and rarely use the Back button, while most users rarely open links in new tabs and rely on the Back button instead.
Patrick Dubroy conducted this study for his ...
- 1,155
16
votes
Is using a hyperlink to close a modal a poor design decision?
It sounds as if you are seeking a formulaic answer about a specific button pattern fit for an exclusive purpose and feel that this goal is not being met.
Straight off the bat, there is no such ...
- 974
14
votes
Should all links on a website be the same color?
About links
Here a fine article about consistency :
http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/consistency-key-to-a-better-user-experience/
A few lines
The design of your site should also be consistent. ...
- 4,185
14
votes
Accepted
Menu with dropdown, root element clickable?
There is a background issue here which is: Should the sub-menu open on click or on hover?
If you choose to display it on click, it is clear that you can only use OptionA (ServiceA, ServiceB, ..., All ...
- 16.7k
13
votes
Accepted
How to let user know large caption in carousel is link
Consider using an arrow or caret to denote there's deeper content. It's a common enough icon that's used often at the end of a text blurb for Call To Action buttons. It's not ideal, but should ...
- 8,481
12
votes
Odd click behavior where my users are clicking non-linked headings
Scrolling down and then up and then clicking on non-interactive things is a sign that the user was looking for something, didn't find it, and is now trying less-obvious interactions to see if it'll be ...
- 8,909
11
votes
Should I include the word 'this' in an in-paragraph hyperlink?
It doesn't matter one bit.
To get on my soapbox for a second, one of the biggest problems of non-professional UX is that people will read some article or other, containing some specialized advice or ...
- 30.3k
11
votes
How to make text look *not* clickable
It's a matter of relative 'clickiness' as well. Make the unclickable items less clickable by making the rest more clickable. The phrase here is: 'affordance'.
the position of the three not-clickable ...
- 681
10
votes
How to make text look *not* clickable
What can I do to make these three pieces of text seem totally unclickable? They're already grayed out as you can see.
*sigh*
In the olden days there used to be a standard that clickable text (a ...
- 636
10
votes
Accepted
mailto: link on "Contact" button - good UX?
As "Contact me" may refer to multiple things, it is not an example of good UX, I am afraid.
I think most Users would expect seeing a list of contact options, which would be the most recommended ...
- 13.8k
10
votes
What are pros/cons of using buttons instead of plain links to download a document?
So MDN suggests a ... but if someone is downloading a document, why/when should that be the case instead of a plain hyperlink?
Right from your quote:
These bogus href values cause unexpected ...
- 223
9
votes
Accepted
How do I indicate that a subset of icons aren't clickable?
Please Ignore the Following Rant
Congratulations. You’ve been web-abused. You’re the victim of all those other sites/apps failing to apply a consistent simple absolute distinction between clickable ...
- 36.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible