A Complete Guide - HTML Anchor Tags and Hyperlinking

Last Updated: 03 Jul, 2025

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HTML Anchor Tags and Hyperlinking

Structure of an Anchor Tag

The basic syntax for an anchor tag is:

<a href="url">Link Text</a>

<a>: This is the opening tag that marks the beginning of the hyperlink.
href="url": The href (hypertext reference) attribute specifies the destination URL of the hyperlink. This can be an absolute URL (like https://www.example.com/) or a relative URL (like /about/).
Link Text: This is the clickable portion of the hyperlink that users will see on the webpage.

Types of Hyperlinks

External Links: These direct users to a completely different website. For example, linking to a blog post hosted on another platform.
```
<a href="https://www.exampleblog.com/post">Read More on Example Blog</a>
```
Internal Links: These direct users to different sections or pages within the same website.
```
<a href="/about/">About Us</a>
```

Bookmark Links: These link to specific sections on the same page. The destination section is marked by an id attribute.

<!-- Link to the section -->
<a href="#contact">Contact Us</a>

<!-- Section on the same page -->
<section id="contact">Contact Information...</section>

Email Links: These open the user's default email client with a pre-filled recipient's email address. This can be useful for "Contact Us" forms.
```
<a href="mailto:info@example.com">Email Us</a>
```

Download Links: These initiate the download of a file when clicked.

<a href="/download/file.pdf" download="file.pdf">Download PDF</a>

Attributes of the `<a>` Tag

href: (Required) Specifies the URL of the page the link goes to.
target: Specifies where to open the linked document. Common values are:
- _self: Opens the linked document in the same frame as it was clicked (this is default).
- _blank: Opens the linked document in a new window or tab.
- _parent: Opens the linked document in the parent frame.
- _top: Opens the linked document in the full body of the window.
```
<a href="https://www.example.com/" target="_blank">Visit Example</a>
```
title: Provides additional information about the link, often displayed as a tooltip when the user hovers over the link.
```
<a href="https://www.example.com/" title="Visit Example Website">Visit Now</a>
```
rel: Specifies the relationship between the current document and the linked document. Common values are:
- noopener: Prevents the new page from being able to access the window.opener property when using target="_blank".
- noreferrer: Similar to noopener, but it also prevents referrer information from being passed to the new page.
- nofollow: Indicates that the link should not influence the ranking of the destination page by search engines.
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Step-by-Step Guide: How to Implement HTML Anchor Tags and Hyperlinking

Complete Examples, Step by Step for Beginners: HTML Anchor Tags and Hyperlinking

Step 1: Basic Anchor Tag Usage to Link to Another Website

Open a Text Editor: Start by opening your preferred text editor like Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, etc.
Create a Simple HTML Document Structure:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website!</h1>
    <!-- Anchor Tag Example -->
    <p>Please visit <a href="https://www.example.com">Example Domain</a> for more information.</p>
</body>
</html>

Explanation:
- The <a> tag is used to create the hyperlink.
- href attribute specifies the URL of the page the link goes to. In this case, it's "https://www.example.com".
- The text between <a> and </a> tags ("Example Domain") will be clickable and shown as the hyperlink text.
Save the File:
- Save your file with an .html extension, for example, index.html.
View in a Web Browser:
- Double-click the saved index.html file or right-click and choose "Open with" followed by your browser to view the content.
- You should see a sentence that includes a clickable link to the Example Domain website.

Step 2: Linking to a Specific Section within the Same Page

Identify Where You Want to Link To:
- Suppose you want to create a link that takes users directly to a "Contact Us" section within the same page.
Add an ID Attribute to the Destination Element:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My First Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Website!</h1>
    
    <!-- Table of Contents -->
    <ul>
        <li><a href="#about-us">About Us</a></li>
        <li><a href="#services">Services</a></li>
        <li><a href="#contact-us">Contact Us</a></li>
    </ul>

    <h2 id="about-us">About Us</h2>
    <p>This section contains information about our organization...</p>

    <h2 id="services">Services</h2>
    <p>Details about our services are listed here...</p>

    <h2 id="contact-us">Contact Us</h2>
    <p>If you have any questions, please contact us at the following email...</p>
</body>
</html>

Explanation:
- Each link contains an href attribute that begins with a pound sign (#) followed by the id attribute value of the section you want to link to (e.g., #about-us, #services, #contact-us).
- This ensures that when the user clicks the link, they are taken directly to that section within the same page.
Save and View:
- Save your changes and view the document in a web browser.
- Clicking the "Contact Us" link should scroll you down to the "Contact Us" section immediately.

Step 3: Adding Styling to Links

Use CSS to Style the Links:
- You can style links using internal CSS within the <style> tags inside the <head> section or external stylesheets.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Styled Hyperlinks</title>
    <style>
        /* Styling the Links */
        a:link {
            color: blue; 
            text-decoration: none;
        }
        
        a:visited {
            color: purple;
        }
        
        a:hover {
            color: red;
            text-decoration: underline;
        }
        
        a:active {
            color: green;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to My Styled Webpage!</h1>
    <p>Check out our <a href="https://www.example.com">Example Domain</a> for more details.</p>
</body>
</html>

Explanation of CSS Selectors:
- a:link: Styles the unvisited link.
- a:visited: Styles the visited link.
- a:hover: Styles the link while the user’s mouse hovers over it.
- a:active: Styles the link when the user clicks it but before the destination page loads.

Step 4: Creating Download Links

Sometimes, instead of directing users to a webpage, you might want to provide a download link. Here's how:

Use the Anchor Tag with download Attribute:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Download Files</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Download My Resume</h1>
    <p>You can download my resume <a href="resume.pdf" download="JohnDoeResume.pdf">here</a>.</p>
</body>
</html>

Explanation:
- The href attribute points to the file location. Make sure the file ('resume.pdf' in this example) exists in the same directory as the HTML file or provide the correct path.
- The download attribute suggests the name for the downloaded file in quotes. If not specified, the filename from href will be used.
Save and Place File:
- Ensure resume.pdf is in the same directory if your href attribute has no path specified.
- Clicking on the link should trigger a file download rather than opening the PDF in the browser.

Step 5: Targeting Links to Open in a New Tab

It can be useful to have links open in a new tab or window. Here's how to do it:

Add the target="_blank" Attribute:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Opening Links in New Tabs</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Explore External Websites</h1>
    <p>Check out the <a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank">Example Domain</a> for more information.</p>
</body>
</html>

Explanation:
- The target="_blank" attribute within the <a> tag makes sure the link opens in a new tab or window.
- This is particularly important for external websites to keep users engaged with your site.

Step 6: Using Images as Links

You can also use images as clickable hyperlinks. Here's how:

Embed an Image and Link It:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Image Links</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Visit Our Official Website</h1>
    <a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank"><img src="logo.png" alt="Our Logo"></a>
</body>
</html>

Explanation:
- The <img> tag used inside the <a> tag creates an image link.
- The src attribute defines the file path of the image.
- The alt attribute provides alternative text for the image in case it doesn’t load.
Save and Test:
- Ensure you have a logo.png image in the same directory or provide the exact path.
- Clicking on the image should take you to the Example Domain in a new tab.