HTML Links
Hyperlinks, Anchors, and Links
In web terms, a hyperlink is a reference (an address) to a resource on the web.
Hyperlinks can point to any resource on the web: an HTML page, an image, a sound file, a movie, etc.
An anchor is a term used to define a hyperlink destination inside a document.
The HTML anchor element <a>, is used to define both hyperlinks and anchors.
We will use the term HTML link when the <a> element points to a resource, and the term HTML anchor when the <a> elements defines an address inside a document..
An HTML Link
Link syntax:
<a href=”url”>Link text</a>
The start tag contains attributes about the link.
The element content (Link text) defines the part to be displayed.
Note: The element content doesn’t have to be text. You can link from an image or any other HTML element.
The href Attribute
The href attribute defines the link “address”.
This <a> element defines a link to Shoutbux:
<a href=”http://www.shoutbux.com/”>Shoutbux!</a>
The target Attribute
The target attribute defines where the linked document will be opened.
The code below will open the document in a new browser window:
<a href=”http://www.shoutbux.com/”
target=”_blank”>Shoutbux</a>
The name Attribute
When the name attribute is used, the <a> element defines a named anchor inside a HTML document.
Named anchor are not displayed in any special way. They are invisible to the reader.
Named anchor syntax:
<a name=”label”>Any content</a>
The link syntax to a named anchor:
<a href=”#label”>Any content</a>
The # in the href attribute defines a link to a named anchor.
Example:
A named anchor inside an HTML document:
<a name=”tips”>Useful Tips Section</a>
A link to the Useful Tips Section from the same document:
<a href=”#tips”>
Jump to the Useful Tips Section</a>
A link to the Useful Tips Section from another document:
<a href=”http://www.shoutbux.com/html_tutorial.htm#tips”>
Jump to the Useful Tips Section</a>
