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HTML Links

Links are found in nearly all Web pages. Links allow users to click their way from page to page.

Examples

Try it Yourself - Examples

HTML links
How to create links in an HTML document.

(You can find more examples at the bottom of this page)

HTML Hyperlinks (Links)

A hyperlink (or link) is a word, group of words, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the current document.

When you move the cursor over a link in a Web page, the arrow will turn into a little hand.

Links are specified in HTML using the <a> tag.

The <a> tag can be used in two ways:

  1. To create a link to another document, by using the href attribute
  2. To create a bookmark inside a document, by using the name attribute

HTML Link Syntax

The HTML code for a link is simple. It looks like this:

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

The href attribute specifies the destination of a link.

Example

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

which will display like this: Visit W3Schools

Clicking on this hyperlink will send the user to W3Schools' homepage.

Tip: The "Link text" doesn't have to be text. It can be an image or any other HTML element.

HTML Links - The target Attribute

The target attribute specifies where to open the linked document.

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

Example

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

Try it yourself »

HTML Links - The name Attribute

The name attribute specifies the name of an anchor.

The name attribute is used to create a bookmark inside an HTML document.

Note: The upcoming HTML5 standard suggests using the id attribute instead of the name attribute for specifying the name of an anchor. Using the id attribute actually works also for HTML4 in all modern browsers.

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

Example

A named anchor inside an HTML document:

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

Create a link to the "Useful Tips Section" inside the same document:

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

Or, create a link to the "Useful Tips Section" from another page:

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

Basic Notes - Useful Tips

Note: Always add a trailing slash to subfolder references. If you link like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html", you will generate two requests to the server, the server will first add a slash to the address, and then create a new request like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/".

Tip: Named anchors are often used to create "table of contents" at the beginning of a large document. Each chapter within the document is given a named anchor, and links to each of these anchors are put at the top of the document.

Examples

More Examples

An image as a link
How to use an image as a link.

Link to a location on the same page
How to link to a bookmark.

Break out of a frame
How to break out of a frame (if your site is locked in a frame).

Create a mailto link
How to link to a mail message (will only work if you have mail installed).

Create a mailto link 2
Another mailto link.

HTML Link Tags

TagDescription
<a>Defines an anchor


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