{"id":136,"date":"2006-12-27T17:04:38","date_gmt":"2006-12-27T09:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/2006\/12\/27\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:21:50","slug":"create-cool-glossy-button-for-web","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Glossy Web Button in Photoshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glossy Web 2.0 buttons were once everywhere, but the technique behind them is still useful if you want to learn Photoshop layer styles, highlights, shadows, and simple UI polishing.<\/p>\n

This tutorial walks through building a glossy button from scratch in Photoshop, starting with a rounded rectangle base, then layering on gradients, shading, and a soft glass effect. The final look is unapologetically old-school, but the process is still a solid exercise in visual styling.<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2013 Create the Base Shape<\/h2>\n

Start with a new canvas and use the default settings unless you need a specific size for your design.<\/p>\n

\"new<\/figure>\n

Create a new layer and name it Button<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\"create<\/figure>\n

With the Button<\/code> layer selected, choose the Rounded Rectangle Tool.<\/p>\n

\"rounded<\/figure>\n

Set the corner radius to 7px<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\"corner<\/figure>\n

Draw a rounded rectangle similar to the one below.<\/p>\n

\"base<\/figure>\n

Step 2 \u2013 Style the Red Button<\/h2>\n

Open the layer styles for the Button<\/code> layer by right-clicking it and choosing Blending Options.<\/p>\n

\"blending<\/figure>\n

Apply the following effects.<\/p>\n

Drop Shadow<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"drop<\/figure>\n

Inner Shadow<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"inner<\/figure>\n

Bevel and Emboss<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"bevel<\/figure>\n

Gradient Overlay<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"gradient<\/figure>\n
\"gradient<\/figure>\n

At this point, your button should look something like this.<\/p>\n

\"red<\/figure>\n

Step 3 \u2013 Add the Glossy Highlight<\/h2>\n

Create another layer and name it Glass<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\"glass<\/figure>\n

Choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool. To load the shape of the button as a selection, hold Ctrl<\/code> and click the Button<\/code> layer thumbnail.<\/p>\n

Select the Glass<\/code> layer, then hold Alt<\/code> and drag a selection across the lower half of the button to remove that portion from the active selection.<\/p>\n

\"cut<\/figure>\n

Fill the remaining selected area with white (#ffffff<\/code>) using the Paint Bucket Tool.<\/p>\n

\"paint<\/figure>\n

Reduce the layer opacity to 18%<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\"opacity<\/figure>\n

You should now have the glossy finish shown below.<\/p>\n

\"glossy<\/figure>\n

Step 4 \u2013 Add a Pattern Overlay<\/h2>\n

To give the button a little texture, create a new layer named Pattern<\/code> between the Button<\/code> and Glass<\/code> layers. If you have not made one yet, this companion guide on creating custom patterns in Photoshop<\/a> will get you there first.<\/p>\n

\"pattern<\/figure>\n

Open Blending Options, enable Pattern Overlay, then choose Stripe5px<\/code> or any custom pattern you created earlier.<\/p>\n

\"pattern<\/figure>\n

With the Rectangular Marquee Tool still active, hold Ctrl<\/code> and click the Button<\/code> layer thumbnail again to load the shape. Fill the selected area on the Pattern<\/code> layer, then reduce that layer\u2019s opacity to 5%<\/code>.<\/p>\n

Step 5 \u2013 Insert the Button Text<\/h2>\n

Add some text in white (#ffffff<\/code>) using the settings below.<\/p>\n

\"text<\/figure>\n

Apply this layer style to the text.<\/p>\n

Drop Shadow<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"text<\/figure>\n

Step 6 \u2013 Final Output<\/h2>\n

You should end up with a glossy button like this.<\/p>\n

\"final<\/figure>\n

It is a very 2000s look, no question, but it is still a handy exercise for learning how gradients, highlights, textures, and layer styles work together.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A step-by-step Photoshop tutorial for making an old-school glossy web button with gradients, highlights, and texture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1934,1933,1938],"topic":[],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Create a Glossy Web Button in Photoshop - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A step-by-step Photoshop tutorial for making an old-school glossy web button with gradients, highlights, and texture.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Create a Glossy Web Button in Photoshop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A step-by-step Photoshop tutorial for making an old-school glossy web button with gradients, highlights, and texture.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-27T09:04:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T08:21:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\/newcanvas.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc686597d92f9086729e4bcc1577ba3\"},\"headline\":\"How to Create a Glossy Web Button in Photoshop\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-12-27T09:04:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T08:21:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":416,\"commentCount\":174,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/newcanvas.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Photoshop icon effects\",\"Photoshop Tutorials\",\"Photoshop UI effects\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Photoshop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/create-cool-glossy-button-for-web\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Create a Glossy Web Button in Photoshop - 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