Websites have links (usually blue, underlined text) and buttons (usually colored boxes) that you can click on with your mouse. Clicking a link takes you to a different web page, usually related to the text. Clicking a button might submit a form, play a video, or do something else on the website.
Open a website with children and find a link. Have them move the mouse over it to see it change or highlight. Then click it and see the new page load.
You've learned to open a web browser and move the mouse pointer around the screen. The next step is understanding how a webpage responds when you click on things. Unlike a printed page, a website is a live document with interactive elements built into it — parts that are designed to respond when you click, not just display text. The two most common interactive elements are links and buttons, and recognizing them is the foundation of navigating the web.
A hyperlink (usually just called a "link") is text or an image that, when clicked, takes your browser to a different web address — a new page, a different website, or a new section of the same page. The long-standing browser convention is that links appear as blue, underlined text, though modern websites often style them differently: differently-colored text, underlined text of any color, or even images. The most reliable signal is not visual styling but cursor behavior: when you hover the mouse over a link, the cursor changes from an arrow pointer to a pointing hand. You can also look at the bottom-left corner of the browser window while hovering — the destination web address (called a URL) appears there, letting you preview where the link will take you before clicking.
A button is an interactive element that performs an action on the current page rather than navigating you away. Common examples: "Submit" on a form, "Play" on a video, "Add to Cart" in an online store, or "Download" for a file. Buttons typically look like raised or colored rectangles with a label inside. When you click a button, the page responds immediately — a video starts, a form sends, a file begins downloading. The core distinction from links is: a link navigates you somewhere new; a button does something where you already are. Modern websites sometimes blur this visual distinction, but the behavioral difference stays consistent.
One important habit to develop early: before clicking any link or button, pause briefly to ask whether it makes sense in context. Legitimate websites don't surprise you with unexpected requests. A link that matches the page topic and shows a recognizable URL in the bottom corner is almost certainly safe. A button that suddenly appears while you're reading a recipe, urging you to "Download a Critical Update Now," is suspicious. The cursor-to-pointing-hand signal and the URL preview at the bottom of the browser are your two most reliable checking tools. Building the reflex of glancing at the URL before clicking is one of the most valuable habits in digital literacy.