


What is the href attribute, and how do I use it to specify the URL of a link?
Jun 22, 2025 am 12:19 AMhref is a key attribute of the <a> tag in HTML that specifies the target address of the link. It determines which URL the browser will jump to when the user clicks on the hyperlink. For example: Visit Example will guide the user to https://example.com. When using href, you should pay attention to distinguish between absolute URLs (such as external website links), relative URLs (such as internal page navigation) and mailto: links (such as email addresses). Common errors include missing quotes, path errors, and missing http:// or https:// prefixes. In addition, href is also used to load style sheets and jump within pages. Correct formatting and validating href values ??is essential to avoid link breaks, improve user experience and SEO.
The href
attribute is a key part of the HTML <a></a>
(anchor) tag. It tells the browser where the link should go — basically, it sets the destination URL when someone clicks on a hyperlink.
Here's how it works in practice: you use it inside an anchor tag like this:
<a href="https://example.com">Visit Example</a>
When a user clicks “Visit Example,” the browser will navigate to https://example.com
.
How to Use href
Correctly
Using href
properly means understanding what kind of links you're creating and how they behave.
Absolute URLs are full web addresses. They're great for linking to external websites.
<a href="https://www.google.com">Go to Google</a>
Relative URLs point to files within your own site. These are useful for internal navigation.
<a href="/about.html">About Us</a>
This would take users to the
about.html
page in the same domain's root directory.Email links can be created using
mailto:
instead ofhttp://
.<a href="mailto:support@example.com">Contact Support</a>
Just make sure the value inside href
matches the type of link you want to create.
Common Mistakes with href
It's easy to make small errors that break your links. Here are a few common issues:
Forgetting quotes around the URL:
<!-- Wrong --> <a href=https://example.com>Example</a> <!-- Better --> <a href="https://example.com">Example</a>
Using incorrect paths in relative URLs: If your file structure isn't set up right or you misjudge the path, the link might lead nowhere.
Missing the
http://
orhttps://
prefix when linking externally:<!-- Might not work as expected --> <a href="www.example.com">Example</a> <!-- Always safer --> <a href="https://www.example.com">Example</a>
These small mistakes can cause broken links, which hurt usability and SEO.
Other Uses of href
While href
is most commonly used with <a>
tags, it also shows up in other places:
In the
<link>
tag to load stylesheets:<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
In anchor tags to jump to sections on the same page using fragment identifiers:
<a href="#section2">Go to Section 2</a> ... <h2 id="section2">Section 2</h2>
This helps create smooth internal navigation without reloading the page.
That's basically how
href
works. It's simple but essential for linking pages, assets, and even email addresses. Just make sure your values ??are correct and formatted properly.The above is the detailed content of What is the href attribute, and how do I use it to specify the URL of a link?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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