diff --git a/scripts/build-site.py b/scripts/build-site.py
index 9de785d..eaa2646 100644
--- a/scripts/build-site.py
+++ b/scripts/build-site.py
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@ for page_number, (slug, title, source) in enumerate(PAGES):
 <meta name="theme-color" content="#10151c"><title>{escape(title)} — Ferese handbook</title><meta name="description" content="{escape(title)} in the Ferese handbook: setup, configuration, and guides for your Wayland desktop.">
 <link rel="icon" href="../assets/ferese.svg" type="image/svg+xml"><link rel="stylesheet" href="../styles.css"><script src="../app.js" defer></script></head>
 <body class="docs-page"><a class="skip" href="#main">Skip to content</a>
-<header class="site-header"><div class="header-inner"><a class="wordmark" href="../" aria-label="Ferese home"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M3 3h6v18H3zM11 3h10v6H11zM11 11h7v6h-7z"/></svg>ferese</a><nav aria-label="Main navigation"><a href="../">Overview</a><a href="./" aria-current="page">Documentation</a><a href="{REPO}">GitHub ↗</a></nav></div></header>
-<div class="docs-layout"><aside class="docs-sidebar"><div class="docs-search" hidden><label class="sr-only" for="docs-search">Search the handbook</label><input id="docs-search" type="search" placeholder="Search the handbook…" autocomplete="off" aria-controls="search-results"><div class="search-results" id="search-results" hidden></div><p class="sr-only" id="search-status" role="status"></p></div><details open><summary>FERESE HANDBOOK</summary><nav aria-label="Documentation">{navigation}</nav></details><div class="sidebar-links"><a href="{REPO}/issues">Report an issue ↗</a><a href="../">Back to Ferese ←</a></div></aside>
-<main class="docs-article" id="main"><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="./">Handbook</a><span aria-hidden="true">/</span><span>{escape(title)}</span></div><article class="prose">{body}</article><a class="edit-link" href="{REPO}/blob/main/{source.relative_to(ROOT)}">View this guide on GitHub ↗</a><nav class="docs-pager" aria-label="Previous and next guide">{pager}</nav></main>
+<header class="site-header"><div class="header-inner"><a class="wordmark" href="../" aria-label="Ferese home"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M3 3h6v18H3zM11 3h10v6H11zM11 11h7v6h-7z"/></svg>ferese</a><nav aria-label="Main navigation"><a href="../">Overview</a><a href="./" aria-current="page">Documentation</a><a href="{REPO}">GitHub <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a></nav></div></header>
+<div class="docs-layout"><aside class="docs-sidebar"><div class="docs-search" hidden><label class="sr-only" for="docs-search">Search the handbook</label><input id="docs-search" type="search" placeholder="Search the handbook…" autocomplete="off" aria-controls="search-results"><div class="search-results" id="search-results" hidden></div><p class="sr-only" id="search-status" role="status"></p></div><details open><summary>FERESE HANDBOOK</summary><nav aria-label="Documentation">{navigation}</nav></details><div class="sidebar-links"><a href="{REPO}/issues">Report an issue <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a><a href="../">Back to Ferese ←</a></div></aside>
+<main class="docs-article" id="main"><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="./">Handbook</a><span aria-hidden="true">/</span><span>{escape(title)}</span></div><article class="prose">{body}</article><a class="edit-link" href="{REPO}/blob/main/{source.relative_to(ROOT)}">View this guide on GitHub <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a><nav class="docs-pager" aria-label="Previous and next guide">{pager}</nav></main>
 <aside class="docs-toc" aria-label="On this page">{'<p>ON THIS PAGE</p><nav>' + contents + '</nav>' if contents else ''}</aside></div>
-<footer class="site-footer page-width"><a class="wordmark" href="../">ferese</a><p>A beautiful, fluid Wayland desktop.</p><a href="{REPO}">Built in the open ↗</a></footer></body></html>'''
+<footer class="site-footer page-width"><a class="wordmark" href="../">ferese</a><p>A beautiful, fluid Wayland desktop.</p><a href="{REPO}">Built in the open <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a></footer></body></html>'''
     (OUTPUT / 'docs' / f'{slug}.html').write_text(doc)
 (OUTPUT / 'docs/search-index.json').write_text(json.dumps(search_index, ensure_ascii=False))
 print(f'Built website and {len(PAGES)} handbook pages at {OUTPUT}')
diff --git a/site/index.html b/site/index.html
index ad994be..339a720 100644
--- a/site/index.html
+++ b/site/index.html
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
           <a href="./" aria-current="page">Overview</a
           ><a href="docs/">Documentation</a
           ><a href="https://github.com/borngraced/ferese"
-            >GitHub <span aria-hidden="true">↗</span></a
+            >GitHub <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a
           >
         </nav>
       </div>
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
           <a class="button" href="docs/installation.html">Install Ferese</a>
           <a class="button secondary" href="docs/">Documentation</a>
           <a class="source-link" href="https://github.com/borngraced/ferese"
-            >Source code ↗</a
+            >Source code <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a
           >
         </div>
       </section>
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@
     <footer class="site-footer page-width">
       <a class="wordmark" href="./">ferese</a>
       <p>A beautiful, fluid Wayland desktop.</p>
-      <a href="docs/">Read the handbook <span aria-hidden="true">↗</span></a>
+      <a href="docs/">Read the handbook <svg class="link-arrow" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M7 17 17 7M7 7h10v10"/></svg></a>
     </footer>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/site/styles.css b/site/styles.css
index cac4fe9..fc66b65 100644
--- a/site/styles.css
+++ b/site/styles.css
@@ -1131,3 +1131,11 @@ kbd {
     margin-top: 7px;
   }
 }
+
+/* SVG external-link arrows avoid platform emoji presentation. */
+.link-arrow {
+  display: inline-block;
+  width: 1em;
+  height: 1em;
+  vertical-align: -0.125em;
+}