HTML Links
Links are found in nearly all web pages. Links allow users to click
their way from page to page.
HTML Links - Hyperlinks
HTML links are hyperlinks.
You can click on a link and jump to another document.
When you move the mouse over a link, the mouse arrow will turn into a
little hand.
Note: A link does not have to be text. A link can be an image or any
other HTML element!
The HTML <a> tag defines a hyperlink. It has the following syntax:
<a href="url">link text</a>
The most important attribute of the <a> element is the href attribute,
which indicates the link's destination.
The link text is the part that will be visible to the reader.
Clicking on the link text, will send the reader to the specified URL
address.
Example
This example shows how to create a link to [Link]:
<a href="[Link] [Link]!
</a>
>DOCTYPE html!<
>html<
>body<
>h1>HTML Links</h1<
>p><a href="[Link] [Link]!</a></p <
>body/<
>html/<
By default, links will appear as follows in all browsers:
An unvisited link is underlined and blue
A visited link is underlined and purple
An active link is underlined and red
Tip: Links can of course be styled with CSS, to get another look!
HTML Links - The target Attribute
By default, the linked page will be displayed in the current browser
window. To change this, you must specify another target for the link.
The target attribute specifies where to open the linked document.
The target attribute can have one of the following values:
_self - Default. Opens the document in the same window/tab as
it was clicked
_blank - Opens the document in a new window or tab
_parent - Opens the document in the parent frame
_top - Opens the document in the full body of the window
Example
Use target="_blank" to open the linked document in a new browser
window or tab:
<a href="[Link] target="_blank">Visit
W3Schools!</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The target Attribute</h2>
<a href="[Link] target="_blank">Visit
W3Schools!</a>
<p>If target="_blank", the link will open in a new browser
window or tab.</p>
</body>
</html>
Absolute URLs vs. Relative URLs
Both examples above are using an absolute URL (a full web address)
in the href attribute.
A local link (a link to a page within the same website) is specified with
a relative URL (without the "[Link] part):
Example
<h2>Absolute URLs</h2>
<p><a href="[Link]
<p><a href="[Link]
<h2>Relative URLs</h2>
<p><a href="html_images.asp">HTML Images</a></p>
<p><a href="/css/[Link]">CSS Tutorial</a></p>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Absolute URLs</h2>
<p><a href="[Link]
<p><a href="[Link]
<h2>Relative URLs</h2>
<p><a href="html_images.asp">HTML Images</a></p>
<p><a href="/css/[Link]">CSS Tutorial</a></p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Links - Use an Image as a Link
To use an image as a link, just put the <img> tag inside the <a> tag:
Example
<a href="[Link]"> <img src="[Link]" alt="HTML
tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;">
</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Image as a Link</h2>
<p>The image below is a link. Try to click on it.</p>
<a href="[Link]"><img src="[Link]" alt="HTML
tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;"></a>
</body>
</html>
Link to an Email Address
Use mailto: inside the href attribute to create a link that opens the
user's email program (to let them send a new email):
Example
<a href="[Link] email</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Link to an Email Address</h2>
<p>To create a link that opens in the user's email program
(to let them send a new email), use mailto: inside the href
attribute:</p>
<p><a href="[Link] email</a></p>
</body>
</html>
Button as a Link
To use an HTML button as a link, you have to add some JavaScript
code.
JavaScript allows you to specify what happens at certain events, such
as a click of a button:
Example
<button onclick="[Link]='[Link]'">HTML
Tutorial</button>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Button as a Links</h2>
<p>Click the button to go to the HTML tutorial.</p>
<button onclick="[Link]='[Link]'">HTML
Tutorial</button>
</body>
</html>
Link Titles
The title attribute specifies extra information about an element. The
information is most often shown as a tooltip text when the mouse
moves over the element.
Example
<a href="[Link] title="Go to
W3Schools HTML section">Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<body>
<h2>Link Titles</h2>
<p>The title attribute specifies extra information about an
element. The information is most often shown as a tooltip
text when the mouse moves over the element.</p>
<a href="[Link] title="Go to
W3Schools HTML section">Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>
</body>
</html>
More on Absolute URLs and Relative URLs
Example
Use a full URL to link to a web page:
<a href="[Link]
tutorial</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>External Paths</h2>
<p>This example uses a full URL to link to a web page:</p>
<p><a
href="[Link]
tutorial</a></p>
</body>
</html>
Example
Link to a page located in the html folder on the current web site:
<a href="/html/[Link]">HTML tutorial</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>External Paths</h2>
<p>This example links to a page located in the html folder
on the current web site:</p>
<p><a href="/html/[Link]">HTML tutorial</a></p>
</body>
</html>
Example
Link to a page located in the same folder as the current page:
<a href="[Link]">HTML tutorial</a>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>External Paths</h2>
<p>This example links to a page located in the same folder
as the current page:</p>
<p><a href="[Link]">HTML tutorial</a></p>
</body>
</html>
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Use the <a> element to define a link
Use the href attribute to define the link address
Use the target attribute to define where to open the linked
document
Use the <img> element (inside <a>) to use an image as a link
Use the mailto: scheme inside the href attribute to create a
link that opens the user's email program
HTML Link Tags
Description Tag
Defines a hyperlink <a>