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.

A hyperlink is an element, a text, or an image that you can click on, and jump to another document.

HTML Links - Syntax

In HTML, links are defined with the <a> tag:

Link Syntax:

<a href="url">link text</a>

Example:

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/">Visit our HTML tutorial</a>

Try it Yourself »

The href attribute specifies the destination address (http://www.w3schools.com/html/)

The link text is the visible part (Visit our HTML tutorial).

Clicking on the link text, will send you to the specified address.

Note The link text does not have to be text. It can be an HTML image or any other HTML element.

Local Links

The example above used an absolute URL (A full web address).

A local link (link to the same web site) is specified with a relative URL (without http://www....).

Example:

<a href="html_images.asp">HTML Images</a>

Try it Yourself »

HTML Links - Colors and Icons

When you move the mouse cursor over a link, two things will normally happen:

  • The mouse arrow will turn into a little hand
  • The color of the link element will change

By default, links will appear as this in all browsers:

  • An unvisited link is underlined and blue
  • A visited link is underlined and purple
  • An active link is underlined and red

You can change the defaults, using styles:

Example

<style>
a:link    {color:#000000; background-color:transparent; text-decoration:none}
a:visited {color:#000000; background-color:transparent; text-decoration:none}
a:hover   {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent; text-decoration:underline}
a:active  {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent; text-decoration:underline}
</style>

Try it Yourself »

HTML Links - The target Attribute

The target attribute specifies where to open the linked document.

This example will open the linked document in a new browser window or in a new tab:

Example

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/" target="_blank">Visit W3Schools!</a>

Try it Yourself »
Target Value Description
_blank Opens the linked document in a new window or tab
_self Opens the linked document in the same frame as it was clicked (this is default)
_parent Opens the linked document in the parent frame
_top Opens the linked document in the full body of the window
framename Opens the linked document in a named frame

If your webpage is locked in a frame, you can use target="_top" to break out of the frame:

Example

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/" target="_top">HTML5 tutorial!</a>

Try it Yourself »

HTML Links - Image as Link

It is common to use images as links:

Example

<a href="default.asp">
  <img src="smiley.gif" alt="HTML tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;border:0">
</a>

Try it Yourself »

Note border:0 is added to prevent IE9 (and earlier) from displaying a border around the image.

HTML Links - The id Attribute

The id attribute can be used to create bookmarks inside HTML documents.

Bookmarks are not displayed in any special way. They are invisible to the reader.

Example

Add an id attribute to any <a> element:

<a id="tips">Useful Tips Section</a>

Then create a link to the <a> element (Useful Tips Section):

<a href="#tips">Visit the Useful Tips Section</a>

Or, create a link to the <a> element (Useful Tips Section) from another page:

<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/html_links.htm#tips">Visit the Useful Tips Section</a>

Try it Yourself »

Note Without a trailing slash on subfolder addresses, you might generate two requests to the server.
Many servers will automatically add a slash to the address, and then create a new request.

Chapter Summary

  • Use the HTML <a> element to define a link
  • Use the HTML href attribute to define the link address
  • Use the HTML target attribute to define where to open the linked document
  • Use the HTML <img> element (inside <a>) to use an image as a link
  • Use the HTML id attribute (id=value) to define bookmarks in a page
  • Use the HTML href attribute (href="#value") to address the bookmark

Test Yourself with Exercises!

Exercise 1 »    Exercise 2 »    Exercise 3 »    Exercise 4 »    Exercise 5 »   

HTML Link Tags

Tag Description
<a>Defines a hyperlink


Color Picker

colorpicker
REPORT ERROR
HOME
PRINT
FORUM
ABOUT

Top 10 Tutorials

HTML Tutorial
CSS Tutorial
JavaScript Tutorial
XML Tutorial
SQL Tutorial
PHP Tutorial
ASP.NET Tutorial
jQuery Tutorial
Angular Tutorial
Bootstrap Tutorial

Top 10 References

HTML Reference
CSS Reference
JavaScript Reference
Browser Statistics
HTML DOM
XML DOM
PHP Reference
jQuery Reference
HTML Colors
HTML Character Sets

Top 10 Examples

HTML Examples
CSS Examples
JavaScript Examples
HTML DOM Examples
PHP Examples
jQuery Examples
XML Examples
XML DOM Examples
ASP Examples
SVG Examples

Web Certificates

HTML Certificate
HTML5 Certificate
CSS Certificate
JavaScript Certificate
jQuery Certificate
PHP Certificate
XML Certificate

Your Suggestion:

Thank You For Helping Us!

Your message has been sent to W3Schools.

W3Schools is optimized for learning, testing, and training. Examples might be simplified to improve reading and basic understanding. Tutorials, references, and examples are constantly reviewed to avoid errors, but we cannot warrant full correctness of all content. While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use, cookie and privacy policy. Copyright 1999-2015 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.