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. It can be an image or any other HTML element.
HTML Links - Syntax
Hyperlinks are defined with the HTML <a> tag:
<a href="url">link text</a>
The href attribute specifies the destination address (https://www.w3schools.com/html/)
of the link.
The link text is the visible part (Visit our HTML tutorial).
Clicking on the link text will send you to the specified address.
Note: Without a forward slash at the end of subfolder addresses, you might generate two requests to the server. Many servers will automatically add a forward slash to the end of the address, and then create a new request.
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 https://www....).
HTML Links - The target Attribute
The target attribute specifies where to open the linked document.
The target attribute can have one of the following values:
_blank- Opens the linked document in a new window or tab_self- Opens the linked document in the same window/tab 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
This example will open the linked document in a new browser window/tab:
Tip: If your webpage is locked in a frame, you can use target="_top" to break out of the frame:
Example
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/"
target="_top">HTML tutorial!</a>
Try it Yourself »
HTML Links - Image as a 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
(when the image is a link).
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="document.location = 'default.asp'">HTML Tutorial</button>
Try it Yourself »
Tip: 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
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/" title="Go to W3Schools HTML
section">Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>
Try it Yourself »
External Paths
External pages can be referenced with a full URL or with a path relative to the current web page.
This example uses a full URL to link to a web page:
This example links to a page located in the html folder on the current web site:
This example links to a page located in the same folder as the current page:
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
HTML Exercises
HTML Link Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| <a> | Defines a hyperlink |
For a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.
