A definition is - the 1st letter of the English alphabet. How to use a in a sentence.

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Example

Create a link to W3Schools.com:

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More 'Try it Yourself' examples below.

Definition and Usage

The <a> tag defines a hyperlink, which is used to link from one page to another.

The most important attribute of the <a> element is the href attribute, which indicates the link's destination.

By default, links will appear as follows in all browsers:

• An unvisited link is underlined and blue
• A visited link is underlined and purple
• An active link is underlined and red

Tips and Notes

Tip: If the <a> tag has no href attribute, it is only a placeholder for a hyperlink.

Tip: A linked page is normally displayed in the current browser window, unless you specify another target.

Tip: Use CSS to style links: CSS Links and CSS Buttons.

Browser Support

Element
<a>	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Attributes

Attribute	Value	Description
download	filename	Specifies that the target will be downloaded when a user clicks on the hyperlink
href	URL	Specifies the URL of the page the link goes to
hreflang	language_code	Specifies the language of the linked document
media	media_query	Specifies what media/device the linked document is optimized for
ping	list_of_URLs	Specifies a space-separated list of URLs to which, when the link is followed, post requests with the body ping will be sent by the browser (in the background). Typically used for tracking.
referrerpolicy	no-referrer no-referrer-when-downgrade origin origin-when-cross-origin same-origin strict-origin-when-cross-origin unsafe-url	Specifies which referrer information to send with the link
rel	alternate author bookmark external help license next nofollow noreferrer noopener prev search tag	Specifies the relationship between the current document and the linked document
target	_blank _parent _self _top	Specifies where to open the linked document
type	media_type	Specifies the media type of the linked document

Global Attributes

The <a> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.

Event Attributes

The <a> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.

More Examples

Example

How to use an image as a link:

Try it Yourself »

Example

How to open a link in a new browser window:

Try it Yourself »

Example

How to link to an email address:

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Example

How to link to a phone number:

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Example

How to link to another section on the same page:

Try it Yourself »

Example

How to link to a JavaScript:

Try it Yourself »

Related Pages

HTML tutorial: HTML Links

HTML DOM reference: Anchor Object

CSS Tutorial: Styling Links

Default CSS Settings

Most browsers will display the <a> element with the following default values:

A Million Little Things

The HTML <a> tag is used for creating an a element (also known as an 'anchor' element).

The a element represents a hyperlink. This is usually a link to another document.

You can use the <a> tag to link text or images. You can also link a large block of content (even containing multiple elements) if required - it's not just restricted to hyperlinking single elements. However, there must be no 'interactive content' descendant.

Syntax

The <a> tag is written as <a href='></a> with the linked URL between the double quotes of the href attribute and the anchor text (i.e. the text that the user sees) between the start and end tags.

Like this:

A &bittersweet& Lesson On Copyright Act

Examples

Basic tag usage

Open the link in a new window (or tab)

Here we use target='_blank' to open the link in a new window.

Reload the new window

Here we open multiple links in a new window, but instead of a new window being opened with each link, a new window is opened with the first link, then the following links load their contents into that window.

We do this simply by giving the target attribute a name that doesn't exist (i.e. we make up our own name for the window/tab).

Linked Image

Here we wrap the <a> around an image to create a linked image.

No-Follow

Here we use rel='nofollow' to create a 'nofollow' link. This can be used to tell search engines that you don't endorse the content at the other end of the link. The nofollow attribute value is typically used on paid links and advertising.

Many people refer to this as the 'nofollow tag' but it's not actually a tag. It's not even an attribute (the attribute is rel). The nofollow bit is simply a value of the rel attribute.

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <a> element accepts the following attributes.

Attribute	Description
href	Specifies the URL of a page that the link goes to.
target	Specifies the default browsing context to load the URL into. Only to be used when the href attribute is present. Possible values: _blank _self _top _parent Any string with at least one character that does not start with a U+005F LOW LINE character. In other words, cannot start with an underscore character (names starting with an underscore are reserved for special keywords).
download	Indicates that the link is to be used for downloading a resource (such as a file). The author can specify a default file name by providing a value. This attribute is optional. Value: [Default file name.] (optional)
rel	Describes the relationship between the current document and the destination URI. Only to be used when the href attribute is present. Multiple values can be provided, separated by a space. Possible values: Value Description alternate Gives alternate representations of the current document. author Gives a link to the current document's author. bookmark Provides the permalink for the nearest ancestor section. external Indicates that the referenced document is not part of the same site as the current document. help Provides a link to context-sensitive help. license Indicates that the main content of the current document is covered by the copyright license described by the referenced document. next Indicates that the current document is a part of a series, and that the next document in the series is the referenced document. nofollow Indicates that the current document's original author or publisher does not endorse the referenced document. This attribute is often used to declare paid links to search engines such as Google, who, request that webmasters declare all paid links (eg, advertising) in this manner. noopener Creates a top-level browsing context that is not an auxiliary browsing context if the hyperlink would create either of those to begin with (i.e., has an appropriate target attribute value). noreferrer Requires that the user agent not send an HTTP Referer (sic) header if the user follows the hyperlink. opener Creates an auxiliary browsing context if the hyperlink would otherwise create a top-level browsing context that is not an auxiliary browsing context (i.e., has '_blank' as target attribute value). prev Indicates that the current document is a part of a series, and that the previous document in the series is the referenced document. search Gives a link to a resource that can be used to search through the current document and its related pages. tag Gives a tag (identified by the given address) that applies to the current document.
rev	Reverse link relationship of the destination resource to this document (or subsection/topic).
hreflang	Language code of the destination URL. Only to be used when the href attribute is present.
type	Specifies the MIME type of the linked resource. Only to be used when the href attribute is present.
referrerpolicy	Referrer policy for fetches initiated by the element.

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <a> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

• accesskey
• autocapitalize
• class
• contenteditable
• data-*
• dir
• draggable
• hidden
• id
• inputmode
• is
• itemid
• itemprop
• itemref
• itemscope
• itemtype
• lang
• part
• slot
• spellcheck
• style
• tabindex
• title
• translate

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain 'event' occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

• onabort
• onauxclick
• onblur
• oncancel
• oncanplay
• oncanplaythrough
• onchange
• onclick
• onclose
• oncontextmenu
• oncopy
• oncuechange
• oncut
• ondblclick
• ondrag
• ondragend
• ondragenter
• ondragexit
• ondragleave
• ondragover
• ondragstart
• ondrop
• ondurationchange
• onemptied
• onended
• onerror
• onfocus
• onformdata
• oninput
• oninvalid
• onkeydown
• onkeypress
• onkeyup
• onlanguagechange
• onload
• onloadeddata
• onloadedmetadata
• onloadstart
• onmousedown
• onmouseenter
• onmouseleave
• onmousemove
• onmouseout
• onmouseover
• onmouseup
• onpaste
• onpause
• onplay
• onplaying
• onprogress
• onratechange
• onreset
• onresize
• onscroll
• onsecuritypolicyviolation
• onseeked
• onseeking
• onselect
• onslotchange
• onstalled
• onsubmit
• onsuspend
• ontimeupdate
• ontoggle
• onvolumechange
• onwaiting
• onwheel

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.