Links: significance of linking, anchor element (attributes: href, mailto), targets

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Why is it called the World Wide Web? Because pages are joined to each other by links, like threads in a web. Today we will learn why links matter, the anchor tag, the href attribute, email links with mailto, and the target attribute.

First, why do we link at all? A link, also called a hyperlink, joins pages so a visitor moves with one click. It connects the pages of one website, like Home, Results and Contact. It can point to other websites and to files, like a P D F notice. It can even jump to a part of the same long page.

A link is made with the anchor tag, written as a. The href attribute, short for hypertext reference, gives the address the link goes to. The words between the opening and closing tags are the link text. The visitor clicks Kwickprep Website, and the browser opens that address. By default, link text is blue and underlined.

Let us name each part. The a tag makes the link. The href attribute tells where the link goes. The link text is what the visitor sees and clicks. The closing a tag ends the link, and forgetting it turns the rest of the page into a link.

There are two kinds of addresses in href. An absolute address is the full address, starting with H T T P S, and is used for other websites. A relative address gives only the file name, like results dot H T M L. It is used for a page in the same folder of your own website.

A link can also jump inside the same page. First, give the target part an id, here fees. Then write href equals hash fees in the anchor. When clicked, the page scrolls straight to Fee Details. This is called an internal link.

Now a special kind of link. When href starts with mailto, followed by a colon, clicking it opens an email app. The email address comes right after the colon, with no spaces. The To box is already filled with the office email address. The visitor only types the message and sends it.

The target attribute decides where the linked page opens. Every value starts with an underscore. Underscore self opens it in the same tab, and this is the default. Underscore blank opens it in a new tab or window. Underscore parent and underscore top are used with frames, to open in the outer frame or the full window.

Here the link opens another website with target equals underscore blank. So it opens in a new tab. Your own school site stays open in the first tab. This is useful for links to other websites.

Pause and predict. Does clicking Help open a new web page? No, it does not. Because href starts with mailto, it opens the email app, addressed to the help email. The target here does not load any page.

Watch out for four common exam mistakes. The attribute is H R E F, not H E R F. Always close the anchor tag. Do not put a space after mailto colon. And blank needs its underscore, or it will not work as a new tab.

Let us revise what we learned today. Links join pages, and that is what makes the web. The anchor tag with href makes a link. An href with a hash and an id jumps within the same page. Mailto opens the email app with the address filled in. Target equals underscore blank opens the page in a new tab. Try building a small three page school website with links between them.