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.
HTML Links – Syntax
The 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.
Example
This example shows how to create a link:
<html>
<body>
</body>
<h1> </h1>
<p><a href=”https://www.help.rerfindia.org/”>Visit help.rerfindia.org! </a></p>
</html>
Result:
HTML Links
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
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
Use target=”_blank” to open the linked document in a new browser window or tab:
<html>
<body>
<h2>The target Attribute</h2>
<a href=”https://www.help.rerfindia.org/” target=”_blank”>Visit help.rerfindia.org! </a>
<p>If target=”_blank”, the link will open in a new browser window or tab.</p>
</body>
</html>
Result:
HTML Links
Visit help.rerfindia.org!
If target=”_blank”, the link will open in a new browser window or tab.
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
<html>
<body>
<h2>Absolute URLs</h2>
<p><a href=”https://www.help.rerfindia.org/”>HELP!</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>
</body>
</html>
Result:
Absolute URLs
Relative URLs
HTML Links – Use an Image as a Link
To use an image as a link, just put the <img> tag inside the <a> tag:
Example
<html>
<body>
<h1>Image as a Link </h1>
<p>The image below is a link. Try to click on it.</p>
<a href=”https://www.help.rerfindia.org/”>
<img src=”smiley.gif” alt=”HTML tutorial” style=”width:42px;height:42px;”>
</a>
</body>
</html>
Result:
Image as a Link
The image below is a link. Try to click on it.
Link 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
<html>
<h2>Link to an Email Address </h2>
<p>To create a link that opens in the user’s email program (to let them send a new email), use mailto: inside the href attribute:</p>
<a href=”mailto:someone@example.com”>Send email</a>
</html>
Result:
Link to an Email Address
To create a link that opens in the user’s email program (to let them send a new email), use mailto: inside the href attribute:
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
<html>
<body>
<h2>Button as a Links</h2>
<p>Click the button to go to the HTML tutorial.</p>
<button onclick=”document.location=’default.asp'”>HTML Tutorial</button>
</body>
</html>
Result:
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
<html>
<body>
<h2>Link Titles</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<a href=”https://www.help.rerfindia.org/” title=”Go to HTML section”>Visit our HTML Tutorial</a>
</body>
</html>
Result:
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.
Visit our HTML Tutorial
HTML Link Colors
By default, a link will appear like 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 link state colors, by using CSS:
Example
Here, an unvisited link will be green with no underline. A visited link will be pink with no underline. An active link will be yellow and underlined. In addition, when mousing over a link (a:hover) it will become red and underlined:
<html>
<head>
<style>
a:link {
color: green;
background-color: transparent;
text-decoration: none;
}
a:visited {
color: pink;
background-color: transparent;
text-decoration: none;
}
a:hover {
color: red;
background-color: transparent;
text-decoration: underline;
}
a:active {
color: yellow;
background-color: transparent;
text-decoration: underline;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Link Colors</h2>
<p>You can change the default colors of links</p>
<a href=”html_images.asp” target=”_blank”>HTML Images</a>
</body>
</html>
Result:
Link Buttons
A link can also be styled as a button, by using CSS:
Example
<style>
a:link, a:visited {
background-color: #f44336;
color: white;
padding: 15px 25px;
text-align: center;
text-decoration: none;
display: inline-block;
}
a:hover, a:active {
background-color: red;
}
</style>
Result:
Create a Bookmark in HTML
Bookmarks can be useful if a web page is very long.
To create a bookmark – first create the bookmark, then add a link to it.
When the link is clicked, the page will scroll down or up to the location with the bookmark.
Example
First, use the id attribute to create a bookmark:<h2 id=”C4″>Chapter 4</h2>
Then, add a link to the bookmark (“Jump to Chapter 4”), from within the same page:
Example
<a href=”#C4″>Jump to Chapter 4</a>
You can also add a link to a bookmark on another page:<a href=”html_demo.html#C4″>Jump to Chapter 4</a>