Should I Use A Button?
shouldiuseabutton.com
shouldiuseabutton.com
Buttons do something, links take you some where. When I see a button, I assume something is going to happen. Something is going to change. An event is going to occur. When a button just takes me somewhere, it gets confusing.
I understand style is important, but for me, if it looks like a button, I'm going to assume it acts like a button. Acting like a link makes me worry that I missed something. That leads to frustration.
Buttons do, links lead.
(and so is shouldiregisteradoma.in)
If there is an html element that describes the thing perfectly, use the same styling as html, or better - use the element itself. If it's an <a>, it's a link, if it's an <input type=submit>, it's a button.
If it's not a plain html element and causes parts of the page to change via javascript, it's probably a button. Except if it functions exactly like a link, or in some weird edge cases, like if you're building a text-only site thing.
Or shorter:
In that same context, can you replace the text with:
- "release the kraken" -> button
- "information about krakens" -> link