Href

As explained in Web Design Playground, Second Edition

The href attribute is an HTML attribute that specifies the destination address of a hypertext link.

The href attribute tells a link where to go. Place it inside an <a> element, set it to an address, and wrap the clickable words between the opening and closing tags. href means “hypertext reference”—a fancy name for a destination address. section 2.15 section 2.2

Choose the href value according to the destination:

• Local page: use the filename when the linked file is in the same directory, such as href="wordplay.html". section 2.15 section 2.16
• Remote page: use the full URL, such as href="https://webdesignplayground.io/". section 2.2 section 2.16
• Same-page location: point to an element’s id with a hash, such as href="#details". section 16.7

A complete link

<a href="wordplay.html">Explore wordplay</a> The browser displays “Explore wordplay” as clickable text. Clicking it opens wordplay.html. Keep the quotation marks around the address, and check capitalization carefully: a mismatched filename or directory letter can lead to a 404 Not Found error. section 2.15

Figure 2.7 The syntax to use for the <a> tag

Use the syntax figure to see how the <a> element, href attribute, destination address, and clickable link text fit together. section 2.15

How Web Design Playground, Second Edition covers it

How deep it goes

Defines the attribute, demonstrates syntax and address types, and notes case sensitivity; defers complex directory paths and anchor details.

Examples

Shows wordplay.html, a webdesignplayground.io URL, and links to “scofflaw” and “Frankenfood.”

What it assumes

Teaches attributes and URLs in plain language before applying href inside an anchor element.

What you can do after

Apply it via HTML to make clickable text open a local file, remote URL, or same-page target.

How it connects

Connects anchor elements, URLs, HTML attributes, local files, remote pages, and id attributes.

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Also explained in

• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  WordPress Power Toolkit: Harness AI to build next-level websitesThe href attribute specifies the destination URL or document location of an HTML hyperlink.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Web Design PlaygroundAn HTML attribute on an anchor element that specifies the destination resource of a hyperlink.

Compare how 3 books explain href →

Related concepts

• anchor elementused by · An anchor element is an HTML element that represents a hyperlink or navigation target, typically linking content to another resource or location.
• attributekind of · An attribute is a named property, value, or piece of information associated with an entity, object, or program element.
• hypertext linkused by · A hypertext link is a reference embedded in digital content that enables navigation to another resource or location.
• link elementpart of · The HTML link element declares a relationship between a document and an external resource or resource metadata.
• uriuses · A URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is a standardized character sequence that identifies an abstract or physical resource.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Web Design Playground, Second Edition. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.