Hand Cursor on Buttons

Buttons don't need a hand

The hand cursor is reserved for links only. Affordance of button interactivity comes from how the element looks (i.e. it should look like a button!).

"Command buttons already have a strong affordance, so they don't need a hand pointer. The hand pointer must mean "this target is a link" and nothing else." - Windows 7 Mouse & Pointers

The elephant in the room is of course links that are styled to look like buttons. Our recommendation is to retain the elements default hand cursor - as it reveals the elements true behaviour and its additional functionality (e.g. right-click actions).

To clarify:

• No button should have a hand cursor

• All text and graphic links should have a hand cursor

• We recommend keeping the browser's default hand cursor on links that are styled to look like buttons

Further Reading

• Buttons Shouldn't Have a Hand Cursor

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/uxguide/inter-mouse?redirectedfrom=MSDN#hand-pointers