An anchor element creates a hyperlink: a clickable path to another page or another place on the current page. In HTML, it uses an opening <a> tag and a matching </a> closing tag. The letter a means “anchor,” a name connected with links that can guide readers to different parts of a page. section 2.22 section 16.32
Build a basic link in three small pieces:
- Put the destination in the href attribute. href means hypertext reference. section 2.22
- Place the words that visitors should see between the opening and closing tags. section 2.23
- Use a local filename for another page on your site, or a full URL for a page elsewhere. section 2.22
A link in action
<a href="wordplay.html">Explore wordplay</a> The browser displays “Explore wordplay” as the link, while href points to the local page named wordplay.html. For a remote page, replace the filename with its full URL, such as http://wordspy.com/index.php. Enter URL letters and capitalization carefully: an incorrect case can lead to a 404 Not Found error. section 2.22 section 2.23
Where do new words come from? Sometimes we’re lucky enough to know the answer. For example, the word <a href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=scofflaw">scofflaw</a> #1 #2 #3 originated as a contest winner and <a href="https://wordspy.com/index.php?word=frankenfood">Frankenfood</a> #1 #2 #3 came from a letter to the editor of a newspaper.
See complete anchor examples linking selected words, including the opening tag, href destination, visible text, and closing tag. section 2.23
