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How to hyperlink in Gmail

By Jessica Lau · January 3, 2024
The Gmail icon.

Hyperlinks let you insert a clickable link into text without showing the whole URL. For example, instead of sending your coworker a messy URL like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ, you can hide that link in something neater, like This is the best. It's especially practical when the link you want to share looks like pure gibberish and runs the length of your forearm. 

It makes sense, then, that Gmail lets you easily hyperlink text from the web; it makes less sense that they've made it unnecessarily complicated to do so in the mobile app. But alas, that's where we're at. 

Here, I'll cover how to hyperlink in Gmail from the mobile app and your desktop.

Table of contents

  • How to hyperlink in Gmail from the mobile app 

  • How to hyperlink in Gmail from a desktop 

How to hyperlink in Gmail from the mobile app

Here's how to hyperlink in Gmail from the mobile app. (The same method works for both iPhone and Android.)

  1. Compose your message. (Resist the urge to double-click and look for a hyperlink option—it's not there.)

    Draft message in the Gmail mobile app.
  2. Copy the URL from wherever it is, and paste it into the bottom of the message.

    A URL pasted at the bottom of a message draft in the Gmail mobile app.
  3. The URL won't hyperlink automatically, so you need to exit the draft, and then reopen it. At that point, the URL will be hyperlinked.

    Hyperlinked URL at the bottom of a draft message in the Gmail mobile app.
  4. Enter the words you want to hyperlink somewhere within the URL.

    Text added within a hyperlinked URL in a message draft in the Gmail mobile app.
  5. Delete everything except for the words you want to hyperlink.

    Hyperlinked text at the bottom of a message draft in the Gmail mobile app.
  6. Copy and paste the hyperlinked text to wherever you want it within your message.

  7. Delete the original hyperlinked text at the bottom of the email. 

    Message draft with hyperlinked text in the Gmail mobile app.

Check out those timestamps—that took me two minutes. Not bad, but way longer than it should take to add a hyperlink to an email.

How to hyperlink in Gmail from a desktop 

Here's the easiest way to hyperlink in Gmail from a desktop. 

  1. Open Gmail. 

  2. Compose a message as you normally would. 

  3. Copy the URL you want to share from wherever it is.

  4. Highlight the text that you want to turn into a clickable link. 

  5. Use the keyboard shortcut to edit the link: command + K on Mac or Ctrl + K on Windows.

  6. In the Edit Link window, enter the URL in the Web address field.

    How to hyperlink in Gmail from a desktop.

  7. Click OK

Your original message will display your hyperlinked text in blue and with an underline. 

Hyperlinked text in a message draft in Gmail on a desktop.

How to edit hyperlinks in Gmail from a desktop 

Here's how to modify a hyperlink. 

  1. Click the hyperlinked text in the body of the message, and then select Change.

    How to edit a hyperlink in Gmail from a desktop.

  2. In the Edit Link window, enter the new URL in the Web address field.

  3. Click OK

Automate Gmail

Your inbox is likely the last place you want to spend more than a few minutes in. With Zapier, you can connect Gmail with thousands of your other go-to apps, so you can automatically do things like save attachments to your cloud storage app and turn emails into tasks. Learn more about how to automate Gmail, or get started with one of these workflows.  

Save new Gmail attachments to Google Drive

Save new Gmail attachments to Google Drive
  • Gmail logo
  • Filter by Zapier logo
  • Google Drive logo
Gmail + Filter by Zapier + Google Drive

Save new attachments in Gmail to Dropbox

Save new attachments in Gmail to Dropbox
  • Gmail logo
  • Dropbox logo
Gmail + Dropbox

Add new starred emails to Todoist as tasks [Business Gmail Accounts Only]

Add new starred emails to Todoist as tasks [Business Gmail Accounts Only]
  • Gmail logo
  • Todoist logo
Gmail + Todoist

Create Trello cards from new Gmail threads

Create Trello cards from new Gmail threads
  • Gmail logo
  • Trello logo
Gmail + Trello

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Related reading:

  • The Gmail shortcuts you should actually be using to manage your inbox

  • How to unsend an email in Gmail

  • Time-saving Gmail settings you didn't know you needed

  • How to send email newsletters from Gmail

This article was originally published in March 2022 by Deb Tennen. The most recent update was in January 2024.

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