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>
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.
 | 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....).
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 default colors, using styles:
Example
<style>
a a:link {color:#000000; background-color:transparent}
a:visited {color:#000000; background-color:transparent}
a:hover {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent}
a:active {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent}
</style>
a a:link {color:#000000; background-color:transparent}
a:visited {color:#000000; background-color:transparent}
a:hover {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent}
a:active {color:#ff0000; background-color:transparent}
</style>
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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:
| 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>
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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>
<img src="smiley.gif" alt="HTML tutorial" style="width:42px;height:42px;border:0">
</a>
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| border:0 is added to prevent IE9 (and earlier) from displaying a border around the image. |
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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>
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