<a>: The Anchor element

The <a> HTML element (or anchor element), with its href attribute, creates a hyperlink to web pages, files, email addresses, locations in the same page, or anything else a URL can address.

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Content within each <a> should indicate the link's destination. If the href attribute is present, pressing the enter key while focused on the <a> element will activate it.

Attributes

This element's attributes include the global attributes.

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download

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Causes the browser to treat the linked URL as a download. Can be used with or without a filename value:

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Without a value, the browser will suggest a filename/extension, generated from various sources: 201
- The Content-Disposition HTTP header
- The final segment in the URL path
- The media type (from the Content-Type header, the start of a data: URL, or Blob.type for a blob: URL)
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filename: defining a value suggests it as the filename. / and \ characters are converted to underscores (_). Filesystems may forbid other characters in filenames, so browsers will adjust the suggested name if necessary.

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Note:

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download only works for same-origin URLs, or the blob: and data: schemes.
How browsers treat downloads varies by browser, user settings, and other factors. The user may be prompted before a download starts, or the file may be saved automatically, or it may open automatically, either in an external application or in the browser itself.
If the Content-Disposition header has different information from the download attribute, resulting behavior may differ: 215
- If the header specifies a filename, it takes priority over a filename specified in the download attribute.
- If the header specifies a disposition of inline, Chrome and Firefox prioritize the attribute and treat it as a download. Old Firefox versions (before 82) prioritize the header and will display the content inline.
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href

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The URL that the hyperlink points to. Links are not restricted to HTTP-based URLs — they can use any URL scheme supported by browsers:

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Sections of a page with document fragments
Specific text portions with text fragments
Pieces of media files with media fragments
Telephone numbers with tel: URLs
Email addresses with mailto: URLs
While web browsers may not support other URL schemes, websites can with registerProtocolHandler()

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hreflang

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Hints at the human language of the linked URL. No built-in functionality. Allowed values are the same as the global lang attribute.

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ping

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A space-separated list of URLs. When the link is followed, the browser will send POST requests with the body PING to the URLs. Typically for tracking.

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referrerpolicy

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How much of the referrer to send when following the link.

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no-referrer: The Referer header will not be sent.
no-referrer-when-downgrade: The Referer header will not be sent to origins without TLS (HTTPS).
origin: The sent referrer will be limited to the origin of the referring page: its scheme, host, and port.
origin-when-cross-origin: The referrer sent to other origins will be limited to the scheme, the host, and the port. Navigations on the same origin will still include the path.
same-origin: A referrer will be sent for same origin, but cross-origin requests will contain no referrer information.
strict-origin: Only send the origin of the document as the referrer when the protocol security level stays the same (HTTPS→HTTPS), but don't send it to a less secure destination (HTTPS→HTTP).
strict-origin-when-cross-origin (default): Send a full URL when performing a same-origin request, only send the origin when the protocol security level stays the same (HTTPS→HTTPS), and send no header to a less secure destination (HTTPS→HTTP).
unsafe-url: The referrer will include the origin and the path (but not the fragment, password, or username). This value is unsafe, because it leaks origins and paths from TLS-protected resources to insecure origins.

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rel

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The relationship of the linked URL as space-separated link types.

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target

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Where to display the linked URL, as the name for a browsing context (a tab, window, or <iframe>). The following keywords have special meanings for where to load the URL:

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_self: the current browsing context. (Default)
_blank: usually a new tab, but users can configure browsers to open a new window instead.
_parent: the parent browsing context of the current one. If no parent, behaves as _self.
_top: the topmost browsing context (the "highest" context that's an ancestor of the current one). If no ancestors, behaves as _self.

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Note: Setting target="_blank" on <a> elements implicitly provides the same rel behavior as setting rel="noopener" which does not set window.opener.

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type

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Hints at the linked URL's format with a MIME type. No built-in functionality.

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Deprecated attributes

charset 280 Deprecated 281: 283
Hinted at the character encoding of the linked URL.
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Note: This attribute is deprecated and should not be used by authors. Use the HTTP Content-Type header on the linked URL.
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coords 289 Deprecated 290: 292
Used with the shape attribute. A comma-separated list of coordinates.
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name 295 Deprecated 296: 298
Was required to define a possible target location in a page. In HTML 4.01, id and name could both be used on <a>, as long as they had identical values.
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Note: Use the global attribute id instead.
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rev 304 Deprecated 305: 307
Specified a reverse link; the opposite of the rel attribute. Deprecated for being very confusing.
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shape 310 Deprecated 311: 313
The shape of the hyperlink's region in an image map.
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Note: Use the <area> element for image maps instead.
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Examples

Linking to an element on the same page

<!-- <a> element links to the section below -->
332 <p><a href="#Section_further_down"> Jump to the heading below </a></p>
333 
334 <!-- Heading to link to -->
335 <h2 id="Section_further_down">Section further down</h2>
336

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Result

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Note: You can use href="#top" or the empty fragment (href="#") to link to the top of the current page, as defined in the HTML specification.

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Linking to an email address

To create links that open in the user's email program to let them send a new message, use the mailto: scheme:

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<a href="mailto:nowhere@mozilla.org">Send email to nowhere</a>
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Result

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For details about mailto: URLs, such as including a subject or body, see Email links or RFC 6068.

Linking to telephone numbers

<a href="tel:+49.157.0156">+49 157 0156</a>
345 <a href="tel:+1(800)555-0123">(800) 555-0123</a>
346

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Result

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tel: link behavior varies with device capabilities:

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Cellular devices autodial the number.
Most operating systems have programs that can make calls, like Skype or FaceTime.
Websites can make phone calls with registerProtocolHandler, such as web.skype.com.
Other behaviors include saving the number to contacts, or sending the number to another device.

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See RFC 3966 for syntax, additional features, and other details about the tel: URL scheme.

Using the download attribute to save a <canvas> as a PNG

To save a <canvas> element's contents as an image, you can create a link where the href is the canvas data as a data: URL created with JavaScript and the download attribute provides the file name for the downloaded PNG file:

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Example painting app with save link

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HTML

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<p>
359   Paint by holding down the mouse button and moving it.
360   <a href="" download="my_painting.png">Download my painting</a>
361 </p>
362 
363 <canvas width="300" height="300"></canvas>
364

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CSS

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html {
367   font-family: sans-serif;
368 }
369 canvas {
370   background: #fff;
371   border: 1px dashed;
372 }
373 a {
374   display: inline-block;
375   background: #69c;
376   color: #fff;
377   padding: 5px 10px;
378 }
379

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JavaScript

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const canvas = document.querySelector("canvas");
382 const c = canvas.getContext("2d");
383 c.fillStyle = "hotpink";
384 
385 function draw(x, y) {
386   if (isDrawing) {
387     c.beginPath();
388     c.arc(x, y, 10, 0, Math.PI * 2);
389     c.closePath();
390     c.fill();
391   }
392 }
393 
394 canvas.addEventListener("mousemove", (event) =>
395   draw(event.offsetX, event.offsetY)
396 );
397 canvas.addEventListener("mousedown", () => (isDrawing = true));
398 canvas.addEventListener("mouseup", () => (isDrawing = false));
399 
400 document
401   .querySelector("a")
402   .addEventListener(
403     "click",
404     (event) => (event.target.href = canvas.toDataURL())
405   );
406

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Result

Security and privacy

<a> elements can have consequences for users' security and privacy. See Referer header: privacy and security concerns for information.

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Using target="_blank" without rel="noreferrer" and rel="noopener" makes the website vulnerable to window.opener API exploitation attacks, although note that, in newer browser versions setting target="_blank" implicitly provides the same protection as setting rel="noopener". See browser compatibility for details.

Accessibility

Strong link text

The content inside a link should indicate where the link goes, even out of context.

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Inaccessible, weak link text

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A sadly common mistake is to only link the words "click here" or "here":

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<p>Learn more about our products <a href="/products">here</a>.</p>
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Result

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Strong link text

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Luckily, this is an easy fix, and it's actually shorter than the inaccessible version!

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<p>Learn more <a href="/products">about our products</a>.</p>
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Result

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Assistive software has shortcuts to list all links on a page. However, strong link text benefits all users — the "list all links" shortcut emulates how sighted users quickly scan pages.

onclick events

Anchor elements are often abused as fake buttons by setting their href to # or javascript:void(0) to prevent the page from refreshing, then listening for their click events .

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These bogus href values cause unexpected behavior when copying/dragging links, opening links in a new tab/window, bookmarking, or when JavaScript is loading, errors, or is disabled. They also convey incorrect semantics to assistive technologies, like screen readers.

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Use a <button> instead. In general, you should only use a hyperlink for navigation to a real URL.

External links and linking to non-HTML resources

Links that open in a new tab/window via target="_blank", or links that point to a download file should indicate what will happen when the link is followed.

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People experiencing low vision conditions, navigating with the aid of screen reading technology, or with cognitive concerns may be confused when a new tab, window, or application opens unexpectedly. Older screen-reading software may not even announce the behavior.

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Link that opens a new tab/window

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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wikipedia.org">
425   Wikipedia (opens in new tab)
426 </a>
427

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Result

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Link to a non-HTML resource

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<a href="2017-annual-report.ppt"> 2017 Annual Report (PowerPoint) </a>
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If an icon is used to signify link behavior, make sure it has an alt text:

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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wikipedia.org">
434   Wikipedia
435   <img alt="(opens in new tab)" src="newtab.svg" />
436 </a>
437 
438 <a href="2017-annual-report.ppt">
439   2017 Annual Report
440   <img alt="(PowerPoint file)" src="ppt-icon.svg" />
441 </a>
442

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Result

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Skip links

A skip link is a link placed as early as possible in <body> content that points to the beginning of the page's main content. Usually, CSS hides a skip link offscreen until focused.

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<body>
451   <a href="#content" class="skip-link">Skip to main content</a>
452 
453   <header>…</header>
454 
455   <main id="content"></main>
456   <!-- The skip link jumps to here -->
457 </body>
458

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.skip-link {
460   position: absolute;
461   top: -3em;
462   background: #fff;
463 }
464 .skip-link:focus {
465   top: 0;
466 }
467

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Result

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Skip links let keyboard users bypass content repeated throughout multiple pages, such as header navigation.

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Skip links are especially useful for people who navigate with the aid of assistive technology such as switch control, voice command, or mouth sticks/head wands, where the act of moving through repetitive links can be laborious.

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Size and proximity

Size

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Interactive elements, like links, should provide an area large enough that it is easy to activate them. This helps a variety of people, including those with motor control issues and those using imprecise inputs such as a touchscreen. A minimum size of 44×44 CSS pixels is recommended.

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Text-only links in prose content are exempt from this requirement, but it's still a good idea to make sure enough text is hyperlinked to be easily activated.

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Understanding Success Criterion 2.5.5: Target Size
Target Size and 2.5.5
Quick test: Large touch targets

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Proximity

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Interactive elements, like links, placed in close visual proximity should have space separating them. Spacing helps people with motor control issues, who may otherwise accidentally activate the wrong interactive content.

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Spacing may be created using CSS properties like margin.

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Hand tremors and the giant-button-problem

Technical summary

490 491 492 493 498 499 500 501 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 519 520 521 522 527 528 529 530 549 550 551 552 553 554 555

Content categories	494 Flow content, 495 phrasing content, 496 interactive content, palpable content. 497
Permitted content	502 Transparent, except that no descendant may be 503 interactive content or an 504 a element, and no descendant may have a specified 505 tabindex attribute. 506
Tag omission	None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory.
Permitted parents	515 Any element that accepts 516 phrasing content, or any element that accepts 517 flow content, but not other `<a>` elements. 518
Implicit ARIA role	523 `link` when `href` attribute is 524 present, otherwise 525 no corresponding role 526
Permitted ARIA roles	531 When `href` attribute is present: 532 533 `button` 534 `checkbox` 535 `menuitem` 536 `menuitemcheckbox` 537 `menuitemradio` 538 `option` 539 `radio` 540 `switch` 541 `tab` 542 `treeitem` 543 544 When `href` attribute is not present: 545 546 any 547 548
DOM interface	`HTMLAnchorElement`

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # the-a-element

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser