HTML Links
Links are found in nearly all web pages. Links allow users to click their way from page to page.
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!
HTML Links - Syntax
The HTML <a> tag defines a hyperlink.
It has the following syntax:
Example
Example Code
html<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
Example Code
html<a href=" EA Academy.com!</a>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
Example Code
html<a href="
target="_blank">Visit EA Academy!</a>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 "https://www" part):
Example
Example Code
htmlHTML Links - Use an Image as a Link
To use an image as a link, just put the <img>
tag inside the <a> tag:
Example
Example Code
htmlLink 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
Example Code
html<a href="mailto:someone@example.com">Send email</a>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
Example Code
htmlTip: Learn more about JavaScript in our JavaScript Tutorial.
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
Example Code
html<a href=" title="Go to EA Academy HTML
section">Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>More on Absolute URLs and Relative URLs
Example
Example Code
html<a href=" tutorial</a>Example
Example Code
html<a href="/html/default.asp">HTML tutorial</a>Example
Example Code
html<a href="default.asp">HTML tutorial</a>You can read more about file paths in the chapter HTML File Paths.
Chapter Summary
- Use the
<a>element to define a link
- Use the
hrefattribute to define the link address
- Use the
targetattribute 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 thehrefattribute to create a link that opens the user's email program
HTML Link Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
<a> | Defines a hyperlink |
For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.