Okay I tried to do what you said. This is my JSON file: http://pastebin.com/m616d0550
and this is my js file: $(document).ready(function() { $.getJSON('featsCalculator/priestofmitra.js', function(data) { $('.featButton').hover(function() { if(data.items.jsname == $(this).attr('id')) { alert(data.items.jsname); } }); }); }); Nothing happens when I hover a .featButton. What's wrong?