Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Buttons

Buttons are links that point to other pages or documents just like a basic paragraph link, but they should only be used in certain circumstances. Use buttons for pointing to things like:

• An application (such as “apply for this job”).
• An actionable item (such as “get started”, linking to a series of steps on a different page).
• Things of high importance that need additional visual interest (such as “sign up for a tour”).

There shouldn’t be more than one or two buttons on any given page. If you’re unsure whether to use a button or not, assume you don’t need a button.

Jump to a component:

• Basic buttons
• Callout action buttons
• Enroll buttons
• Full-width buttons
• Form input buttons
• Plain buttons

Basic buttons

Most buttons on the website are basic buttons.

Styling

Basic buttons are turquoise and have an arrow indicating that you¡¯re going somewhere else. The arrow is animated on hover.

How to use for Basic buttons

Add in the HTML (see ¡°development info¡±).

<a class="button" href="">Button text</a>

Callout action buttons

See information about callout action buttons.

Enroll buttons

Enroll buttons should only be used to point students toward the steps for new students and applying to PCC. They are green instead of turquoise (to help reiterate the “get started” feeling) and have a large arrow instead of the small angle arrow used in other buttons.

Styling

Enroll buttons fill up 100% of the width of the space, instead of trimming to the width of the content inside of them like basic buttons. You can put them in callouts or directly on the page.

How to use for Enroll buttons

Add in the HTML (see ¡°development info¡±).

<a class="button enroll-button" href="">Button text</a>

Full-width buttons

Full-width buttons should be used sparingly, only when the design calls for them. Basic buttons are the preferred type in most cases.

Styling

Full-width buttons fill up 100% of the width of the space, instead of trimming to the width of the content inside of them like basic buttons. You can put them in callouts or directly on the page.

How to use for Full-width buttons

Add in the HTML (see ¡°development info¡±).

<a class="button expand" href="">Button text</a>

Form input buttons

Learn about PCC’s form styling.

Plain buttons

Plain buttons should only be used in special cases when a button is required for accessibility, such as in sortable tables.

Styling

Plain buttons look like bolded plain text with an underline on hover and focus. They don’t include an arrow icon.

How to use for Plain buttons

Add in the HTML (see ¡°development info¡±).

<a class="button plain" href="">Button text</a>

<button class="plain">Button text</button>