description & Usage
You can link from one HTML page to other pages of the same site (or other sites) with the <a> tag.
The following two terms are usually used to call the <a> tag:
- link
- Hyperlink
The most important features of the <a> tag are href and target:
- href: specifies the destination of the link.
- target: specifies that the target should be opened in a new browser tab or on the same page.
The <a> tag is an abbreviation of the word anchor.
Notes
Note: If the attribute is not in the <a> tag, this tag only keeps the anchor text and is not linked.
<a>anchor text</a>Note: If the attribute in the <a> tag is empty, the link will be given to the page itself.
<a href="">anchor text</a>Browser compatibility and Support
| # | Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <a> |
Attributes
| Attributes | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| download |
filename
|
By clicking the link, the download will begin. |
| href |
URL
|
It specifies the address of the destination page(website). |
| hreflang |
language_code
|
It specifies the language of the destination page(website). |
| media |
media_query
|
It specifies destination page(website) is optimized for which device and media |
| ping |
list_of_URLs
|
It is for tracking the user. When the user clicks on the link, a POST request is sent to the ping addresses inside it. |
| referrerpolicy |
no-referrer
no-referrer-when-downgrade
origin
origin-when-cross-origin
same-origin
strict-origin-when-cross-origin
unsafe-url
|
It specifies the information that is sent when the link is clicked from the referrer (the current page or website) to the destination page. |
| rel |
alternate
author
bookmark
external
help
license
next
nofollow
noreferrer
noopener
prev
search
tag
|
It specifies the relationship between the current page and the destination page. |
| target |
_blank
_parent
_self
_top
|
It specifies where to open the link, in new page(tab) or current page(tab) |
| type |
media_type
|
It specifies the type of media for the destination address. For example: JPG, MP4, HTML, etc. |
Global Attributes
The <a> tag supports the HTML Global Attributes.
Event Attributes
The <a> tag supports the HTML Event Attributes.
Default CSS
Most browsers will display the <a> tag with the following default style:
