Links are found in nearly all web pages. Links allow users to click their way from page to page.
HTML Links - HyperlinksHTML 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 - SyntaxThe 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.
ExampleThis example shows how to create a link to W3Schools.com:
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/">Visit W3Schools.com!</a>
Try it Yourself »By default, links will appear as follows in all browsers:
Tip: Links can of course be styled with CSS, to get another look!
HTML Links - The target AttributeBy 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 windowUse target="_blank" to open the linked document in a new browser window or tab:
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/" target="_blank">Visit W3Schools!</a>
Try it Yourself » Absolute URLs vs. Relative URLsBoth 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<h2>Absolute URLs</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.w3.org/">W3C</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/">Google</a></p>
<h2>Relative URLs</h2>
<p><a href="html_images.asp">HTML Images</a></p>
<p><a href="/css/default.asp">CSS Tutorial</a></p>
Try it Yourself » HTML Links - Use an Image as a LinkTo use an image as a link, just put the <img>
tag inside the <a>
tag:
<a href="default.asp">
<img src="smiley.gif" alt="HTML tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;">
</a>
Use mailto:
inside the href
attribute to create a link that opens the user's email program (to let them send a new email):
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 TitlesThe 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.
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/" title="Go to W3Schools HTML section">Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>
Try it Yourself » More on Absolute URLs and Relative URLs ExampleUse a full URL to link to a web page:
<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp">HTML tutorial</a>
ExampleLink to a page located in the html folder on the current web site:
<a href="/html/default.asp">HTML tutorial</a>
ExampleLink to a page located in the same folder as the current page:
<a href="default.asp">HTML tutorial</a>
You can read more about file paths in the chapter HTML File Paths.
Chapter Summary<a>
element to define a linkhref
attribute to define the link addresstarget
attribute to define where to open the linked document<img>
element (inside <a>
) to use an image as a link mailto:
scheme inside the href
attribute to create a link that opens the user's email programFor a complete list of all available HTML tags, visit our HTML Tag Reference.
Video: HTML LinksTrack your progress - it's free!
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