How to Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

This guide will discuss how to fix hyperlink to website not working in Excel.

A hyperlink is a commonly used element in HTML documents. From its name, a hyperlink links to another part of a document, or to a completely different document. Furthermore, it can link to a completely different website.

And hyperlinks are usually colored differently like blue, and purple, or are sometimes underlined so they would stand out.

Essentially, a hyperlink will link to a specific source. For example, when you click a hyperlink in a document, it will lead you to the end portion of the document.

Additionally, hyperlinks are not only represented by text. So they can also be an image, a button, or URLs.

Because Excel makes it very easy to add hyperlinks, it is something very common to do. And this would usually cause some issues to come up.

Let’s take a scenario where we would input a hyperlink in Excel and an issue comes up.

Suppose you are making multiple worksheets that are related to each other. And to make everything easier when viewing, you place hyperlinks to link each worksheet to each other. Once you were done, you saved it.

But the next day when opening the worksheet, the hyperlinks are no longer working.

There could be several reasons why the hyperlink in Excel is not working. So before we discuss how to fix hyperlink to website not working in Excel, let’s first explore possible reasons why this is happening.

There could be many possible reasons why our hyperlink is not working in Excel. So let’s explore these reasons to understand better and fix the issues.

Firstly, the most common one would be a change in the name of the hyperlinked website or file. When we use hyperlinks, we usually reference a name to it. Sometimes we may input the wrong name, or it may have changed overnight when we save it.

For example, we may forget to input the www. or the .com in our website name. Either way, we should always check first the name of the hyperlink. So if it was inputted correctly or there are some missing words to it.

Secondly, the website may not be in hyperlink form. We all make mistakes. And we may accidentally forget to change the website to hyperlink form, especially if we have a long list of them.

When we have a long list of websites, it may take some time to change each one to its hyperlink form. But worry not, we can use the HYPERLINK function to convert all of them to their hyperlink form.

Lastly, the hyperlink to a website may not work due to the Excel web option. So Excel has an option that automatically updates hyperlinks whenever we save our worksheet. If we change our hyperlinks every time we save our worksheet, the hyperlink will most likely stop working.

Great! We have discovered three reasons why hyperlinks to websites are not working in Excel. Now let’s move on to a real example of fixing hyperlink to website not working in Excel.

Let’s say you have a list of websites on your worksheet that is essential to your work. But for some reason, the hyperlinks are not working.

Sample dataset having hyperlink issues

Since we have discussed the three possible reasons why this is happening, let’s go through each one to check.

Firstly, is the name of the website correct? We need to make sure we have named the hyperlink properly for it also to work properly.

If not, change the name to its correct one. And this will immediately fix the issue, and our hyperlink should be working properly.

For example, the first hyperlink to a website is missing the .com. So simply add the .com to name the hyperlink properly.

Secondly, is the website in its proper hyperlink form? If not, let’s use the HYPERLINK function to change the websites into their appropriate hyperlink forms.

For instance, there are three websites not in their proper hyperlink form. So simply input the HYPERLINK function and reference the website link to apply the changes.

Lastly, we may want to check the web option just in case. If all else fails, this may be the reason why the hyperlink to the website is not working. Furthermore, we only need to uncheck the box that updates links on save.

You can make your own copy of the spreadsheet above using the link attached below.

Awesome! Now let’s dive into the steps on how to fix hyperlink to website not working in Excel.

In this section, we will discuss the process of how to fix hyperlinks to websites not working in Excel.

1. Firstly, let’s tackle the first issue of the website name not being correct. So simply add the missing words to the name or change the name entirely to its correct one. In this case, we are missing the .com in the first website hyperlink.

To fix this, simply input .com and press the Enter key to activate the hyperlink.

Adding the missing words to the link

2. Secondly, let’s convert the websites into their proper hyperlink form. Firstly, input the equal sign and type in “HYPERLINK” to start the HYPERLINK function. Then, select the website link or address. Lastly, press the Enter key to show results.

So the entire formula would be “=HYPERLINK(C3)”.

Using the HYPERLINK function

3. Next, drag down the formula to apply to the rest of the websites to convert them to the proper hyperlink form.

Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

4. Lastly, let’s turn off the web option in Excel. Firstly, click on File. Next, go to Options.

Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

5. Afterward, select Advanced in the dialogue box that pops up. Next, select General and click Web Options.

Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

6. Then, in the Web Options window, select Files. Finally, uncheck Update links on save and select OK to apply changes.

Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

7. And tada! We have successfully learned three ways to fix hyperlinks to websites not working in Excel.

Fix Hyperlink to Website Not Working in Excel

 

That’s pretty much it! We have learned the reasons why hyperlinks to websites may not be working. Additionally, we have learned how to fix those issues to get our hyperlinks to websites working in Excel.

Are you interested in learning more about what Excel can do? You can now use the HYPERLINK function and the various other Microsoft Excel formulas available to create great worksheets that work for you. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know about the latest guides and tutorials from us.

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