Understanding Hyperlinks in HTML

Hyperlinks, or simply "links", are one of the fundamental elements that make the web 'the web'. They allow us to navigate from one web page to another, or even to a specific part of the same page. In HTML, we create links using the 'anchor' element, represented by the <a> tag.

Imagine that you're reading a physical book and you come across a term you're not familiar with. You would probably flip to the glossary at the back of the book to find out more about that term. This is similar to how links work in HTML: they take you from one point to another, providing additional context or detail.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what hyperlinks are, let's dive into how we can create them in HTML.

Creating a Basic Hyperlink

A basic hyperlink is created in HTML using the <a> tag. The destination of the link is specified using the href attribute (the web address the link will take you to when you click on it). Here's an example:

<a href="https://www.example.com">Visit Example.com</a>

In the above code, "Visit Example.com" is the text that will be visible on your webpage. This is often referred to as the 'link text'. When users click on this text, they will be taken to "https://www.example.com".

Linking to a Specific Section of a Page

Sometimes, you might want to link to a specific section of a web page, not just the top of it. This is often done in long articles or tutorials where a table of contents links to different sections of the same page.

To link to a specific section of a page, you'll need to use an 'ID'. An ID is a unique identifier that you can give to any HTML element. Let's say you want to link to a section of your page with the ID 'introduction'. Here's how you would do it:

<a href="#introduction">Go to Introduction</a>

And this is how you would set up the 'introduction' section:

<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>

When users click on "Go to Introduction", they will be taken to the part of the page where <h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2> is located.

Linking to a Different Web Page in the Same Website

When adding links to your own website, you don't need to include the complete URL. You can use a 'relative' path instead.

Let's say you have a website with two pages: 'index.html' (the homepage) and 'about.html' (the about page). If you want to add a link to the about page from the homepage, you can do it like this:

<a href="about.html">About Us</a>

Opening a Link in a New Tab

By default, when a user clicks on a link, the linked page opens in the same browser tab. But what if you want the linked page to open in a new tab? For this, you can use the target="_blank" attribute. Here's how:

<a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank">Visit Example.com</a>

Now, when a user clicks on "Visit Example.com", the link will open in a new browser tab.

Conclusion

Hyperlinks are a fundamental part of HTML and the web. They allow us to navigate between different web pages and parts of a page. In this blog post, we've learned how to create basic hyperlinks, link to a specific section of a page, link to a different page in the same website, and open a link in a new browser tab.

Remember, the best way to learn is by doing. So, try adding some links to your own HTML documents and see how they work. Happy coding!