How to use Hyperlinks in PowerPoint Presentations [The right way]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
A few weeks ago, while building a sales deck for our client Jonathan, he asked us a simple but important question:
“Can I link this slide to another part of the same presentation without making it look messy?”
Our Creative Director replied,
“Yes. That’s exactly what hyperlinks are for, but only if you use them with intention.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many PowerPoint presentations throughout the year, and one thing we’ve noticed is that people often treat hyperlinks like decoration. They either throw them in without thinking or avoid them altogether because they’re unsure how to make them look clean and professional.
So in this blog, we’ll talk about how to use hyperlinks in PowerPoint presentation the right way to improve navigation, structure, and audience engagement.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why Most People Get Hyperlinks Wrong in PowerPoint Presentations
Let’s start with this: Hyperlinks are not just for linking out to websites. In fact, their most powerful use in a presentation is internal navigation. Think of them like shortcuts that guide your audience without needing to scroll through every single slide.
But here’s where most people mess up.
They either:
Overuse hyperlinks until the deck starts looking like a tangled spider web of confusion.
Hide them so well that even the presenter forgets where they lead.
Use default blue underlined text that screams “this was an afterthought.”
Or worse, link slides with no structure which ends up confusing both the speaker and the audience.
The truth is that hyperlinks can turn a linear presentation into a dynamic, interactive experience. Especially when you're dealing with complex information, modular content, or multiple paths for different audiences.
We’ve seen this play out across pitch decks, training modules, investor presentations, and even simple product demos. The people who take time to use hyperlinks well create presentations that feel like apps: clean, responsive, and smart.
So, before we dive into the how, let’s get one thing straight. The goal of a hyperlink isn’t just to jump slides. It’s to guide attention. And done right, it can make you look like you actually thought about your audience’s experience.
How to Use Hyperlinks in PowerPoint Presentation
We’ve sat through hundreds of decks and redesigned even more. And one pattern is painfully clear—hyperlinks are either neglected or misused. Yet when used right, they can quietly elevate your presentation into something that flows, connects, and makes you look like you know exactly what you're doing.
So here’s how we use hyperlinks in PowerPoint presentation, the right way. No fluff, just real methods we apply for our clients across industries.
1. Start with a Structure Worth Linking
Before you even touch the hyperlink feature, zoom out. Ask yourself: does this deck need nonlinear navigation? If you're presenting something linear—a classic pitch, a story-driven proposal—you may not need hyperlinks at all.
But if you're dealing with:
Training decks with multiple modules
Sales decks with audience-specific branches
Product demos with feature breakdowns
FAQ-heavy presentations
Interactive portfolios or company overviews
Then hyperlinks are your best friend.
We often build decks where the first 5–6 slides set the context, and then slide 7 becomes a hub. From that slide, the presenter can click into different sections—Product Details, Pricing, Case Studies,
Timeline, whatever’s relevant. This gives the presenter flexibility to skip, adjust, and navigate based on the flow of the conversation.
Hyperlinks only make sense if your content can benefit from a modular structure. Otherwise, you’re adding complexity for no real gain.
2. Use Buttons, Not Bare Text
This is a design choice that makes a big difference.
Yes, you can hyperlink text. PowerPoint lets you do that easily. But in most cases, it’s better to create clickable shapes or buttons. Why?
Because:
Shapes are visually distinct.
They invite interaction.
They’re easier to spot and remember.
Let’s say you have a hub slide that branches into 4 sections. Instead of listing those 4 as blue underlined hyperlinks (that look like something from 1999), you create clean rectangular buttons with labels like “Product Features” or “Case Studies.” Each button links to a specific section.
Now it feels like a custom-built menu, not a hacky workaround.
We use simple filled shapes, matching the brand palette, with hover effects where possible. It looks clean. It feels deliberate. And most importantly, it makes navigation intuitive even for first-time viewers.
3. Link to Specific Slides, Not Just “Next”
This sounds obvious, but it’s surprising how many people misuse hyperlink destinations. Instead of setting up direct links to specific slides, they use vague “Next Slide” or “Previous Slide” options thinking they’re doing enough.
Nope.
If you’re using hyperlinks to navigate within the presentation, always link to a specific slide number. PowerPoint lets you do this easily:
Select your button or shape
Right-click → Link
Choose “Place in This Document”
Pick the exact slide title you want
Now you have control. You know exactly where that button goes. And if your slide order changes during revisions, PowerPoint still maintains the link based on slide title.
One small tip here: name your slides properly in the Slide Sorter view. Default slide names like “Slide 12” or “Untitled” create confusion when you’re hyperlinking. A title like “Pricing Table” or “Module 3: FAQs” is easier to find and manage.
4. Add a Consistent Home Button or Navigation Trail
Every good navigation system needs a way back. That’s true for websites. It’s true for apps. And yes, it’s true for presentations.
If your deck uses internal hyperlinks for branching, always give your audience a way to get back to where they came from. Otherwise, it’s like dropping them in the middle of a maze with no exit.
What we usually do is place a small “Home” icon on the top-right or bottom-right corner of every section slide. Clicking this brings the presenter back to the hub or table of contents. It’s a subtle but powerful design habit.
In other cases, we use breadcrumb-style navigation: for example, a line at the top that says “Main Menu > Product Features” with clickable parts. This isn’t native to PowerPoint, so you have to build it manually with shapes and links—but it works beautifully.
A good navigation system reduces the mental load for the presenter. And it gives the audience a feeling that this deck was designed with them in mind.
5. Test It Like You’re the Audience
This part? People skip it. And then they wonder why things break mid-presentation.
Once your hyperlinks are in place, go full-screen and navigate the deck exactly how your audience will experience it. Don’t just click once and assume it works. Test every button, every path, every “back” and “home” link.
We treat hyperlink testing like QA. Because nothing breaks the flow like a presenter clicking a button and getting stuck or landing on the wrong slide.
Even worse? Accidentally linking to a slide that was deleted or moved during revisions. We’ve seen clients do that on live calls. It’s awkward. It’s unnecessary. And it’s 100% preventable.
Build a habit of testing every link before every major meeting. Especially if the deck has been touched by multiple people.
6. Think Through What You Don’t Want to Link
This is underrated. Hyperlinks are powerful, yes. But if you start linking everything, your deck becomes chaotic fast.
A helpful rule we use is the 80–20 principle.
Link the 20% of slides that drive 80% of navigation decisions. That might be:
The initial menu or hub
Major section dividers
Key resources like appendix or glossary
Optional detours like demo videos or testimonials
Leave the rest alone. Let the deck flow naturally unless you need an interactive jump.
It keeps your structure tight and your delivery clean.
7. Hide Links in Smart Ways (When Needed)
There are times when the presenter needs hidden links. Maybe they want a “just in case” slide ready but don’t want it visible to the audience. In those cases, hyperlinking to invisible shapes can be useful.
Here’s how we do it:
Insert a transparent shape (like a rectangle with no fill and no line)
Place it over the element you want to make clickable
Add the hyperlink to that shape
To the audience, it looks like nothing’s there. But to the presenter, it’s a secret trigger.
We’ve used this technique in sales decks where the client wanted to have an optional slide on “Risk Mitigation” ready, but only wanted to go there if asked.
This is advanced use, but if you know your audience well, it lets you stay flexible while still looking polished.
8. Use Slide Zoom (If It Helps, But Use It Carefully)
PowerPoint introduced a feature called Slide Zoom a while back. It looks slick—letting you jump to slides with animated transitions—and yes, technically, it’s a form of hyperlink.
We’ve used it for select decks where the aesthetic of zooming in and out of sections made sense. Like for tech companies showing layered processes, or portfolios that felt like interactive tours.
But be warned: Slide Zoom is less customizable than manual hyperlinks. It also increases the deck size and can slow down performance on older systems.
Our take? Use it if your presentation is mostly visual, not too large, and you want to impress with motion. Otherwise, stick with classic hyperlinks for reliability and control.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.