diff --git a/src/aotextarea.cpp b/src/aotextarea.cpp
index 08885da80..f5486c009 100644
--- a/src/aotextarea.cpp
+++ b/src/aotextarea.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #include "aotextarea.h"
 
+#include "aoutils.h"
+
 AOTextArea::AOTextArea(QWidget *parent)
     : AOTextArea(5000, parent)
 {}
@@ -27,7 +29,7 @@ void AOTextArea::addMessage(QString name, QString message, QString nameColor, QS
     message += " ";
   }
 
-  QString result = message.toHtmlEscaped().replace("\n", "<br>").replace(url_parser_regex, "<a href='\\1'>\\1</a>");
+  QString result = AOUtils::convert_to_html(message);
 
   if (!messageColor.isEmpty())
   {
diff --git a/src/aotextarea.h b/src/aotextarea.h
index b24ab2db0..dda7651cf 100644
--- a/src/aotextarea.h
+++ b/src/aotextarea.h
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <QDebug>
-#include <QRegularExpression>
 #include <QScrollBar>
 #include <QTextBrowser>
 #include <QTextCursor>
@@ -17,7 +16,5 @@ class AOTextArea : public QTextBrowser
   void addMessage(QString name, QString message, QString nameColor, QString messageColor = QString());
 
 private:
-  const QRegularExpression url_parser_regex = QRegularExpression("\\b(https?://\\S+\\.\\S+)\\b");
-
   void auto_scroll(QTextCursor old_cursor, int scrollbar_value, bool is_scrolled_down);
 };
diff --git a/src/aoutils.cpp b/src/aoutils.cpp
index f384b81b4..5d5d70dcc 100644
--- a/src/aoutils.cpp
+++ b/src/aoutils.cpp
@@ -86,3 +86,9 @@ void AOUtils::migrateEffects(QSettings &p_effects_ini)
   }
   p_effects_ini.sync();
 }
+
+QString AOUtils::convert_to_html(const QString &p_text)
+{
+  static const QRegularExpression url_regex(QStringLiteral("\\b(https?://\\S+)"));
+  return p_text.toHtmlEscaped().replace(url_regex, "<a href=\"\\1\">\\1</a>").replace("\n", "<br>");
+}
diff --git a/src/aoutils.h b/src/aoutils.h
index 1fe03fd57..20ea4332d 100644
--- a/src/aoutils.h
+++ b/src/aoutils.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <QSettings>
+#include <QString>
 
 namespace AOUtils
 {
@@ -9,4 +10,9 @@ namespace AOUtils
  * @param QSettings object reference of the old effects.ini
  */
 void migrateEffects(QSettings &p_fileName);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Converts plain text to HTML and turns any URLs into links
+ */
+QString convert_to_html(const QString &p_text);
 }; // namespace AOUtils
diff --git a/src/lobby.cpp b/src/lobby.cpp
index c39979f07..c019135d6 100644
--- a/src/lobby.cpp
+++ b/src/lobby.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "lobby.h"
 
 #include "aoapplication.h"
+#include "aoutils.h"
 #include "demoserver.h"
 #include "gui_utils.h"
 #include "networkmanager.h"
@@ -568,13 +569,11 @@ void Lobby::check_for_updates()
     QVersionNumber current_version = QVersionNumber::fromString(ao_app->get_version_string());
     QVersionNumber master_version = QVersionNumber::fromString(version);
 
-    static QRegularExpression regexp_links("\\b(https?://\\S+\\.\\S+)\\b");
-
     if (current_version < master_version)
     {
       ui_game_version_lbl->setText(tr("Version: %1 [OUTDATED]").arg(current_version.toString()));
       setWindowTitle(tr("[Your client is outdated]"));
-      const QString download_url = QString("https://github.com/AttorneyOnline/AO2-Client/releases/latest").replace(regexp_links, "<a href='\\1'>\\1</a>");
+      const QString download_url = AOUtils::convert_to_html(QStringLiteral("https://github.com/AttorneyOnline/AO2-Client/releases/latest"));
       const QString message = QString("Your client is outdated!<br>Your Version: %1<br>Current Version: %2<br>Download the latest version at<br>%3").arg(current_version.toString(), master_version.toString(), download_url);
       QMessageBox::warning(this, "Your client is outdated!", message);
     }
@@ -590,9 +589,7 @@ void Lobby::set_player_count(int players_online, int max_players)
 void Lobby::set_server_description(const QString &server_description)
 {
   ui_server_description_text->clear();
-  static QRegularExpression regexp_links("\\b(https?://\\S+\\.\\S+)\\b");
-  QString result = server_description.toHtmlEscaped().replace("\n", "<br>").replace(regexp_links, "<a href='\\1'>\\1</a>");
-  ui_server_description_text->insertHtml(result);
+  ui_server_description_text->insertHtml(AOUtils::convert_to_html(server_description));
 }
 
 Lobby::~Lobby()