HTML 4 a Tag

Also see HTML5 <a> Tag.

This page is for the HTML 4 version of this element. For a more up to date version, see HTML5 <a> Tag.

The HTML a tag is used for creating a hyperlink to either another document, or somewhere within the current document.

You can use the a tag to link text or images. To link an image, simply nest your img tag inside the a tag.

Example

Attributes

Attributes specific to this tag:
AttributeDescription
nameMarks an area of the page that a link jumps to.
hrefSpecifies the URL of a page or the name of the anchor that the link goes to.
hreflangLanguage code of the destination URL
typeThe type of content at the link destination
relDescribes the relationship between the current document and the destination URI.
  • alternate
  • appendix
  • bookmark
  • chapter
  • contents
  • copyright
  • glossary
  • help
  • home
  • index
  • next
  • prev
  • section
  • start
  • stylesheet
  • subsection
revDescribes a reverse between the destination URI and the current document. Possible values:
  • alternate
  • appendix
  • bookmark
  • chapter
  • contents
  • copyright
  • glossary
  • help
  • home
  • index
  • next
  • prev
  • section
  • start
  • stylesheet
  • subsection
charsetDefines the character encoding of the linked document.
Other Attributes:
AttributeDescription
shapeImage map shape
coordsImage map coordinates
targetSpecifies the target frame to load the page into. Possible values:
  • _blank
  • _self
  • _top
  • _parent
  • Any string with at least one character that does not start with a U+005F LOW LINE character.
accesskeyAccess keys (or shortcut keys)
dirSpecifies the direction of the text
classDocument wide identifier.
idDocument wide identifier
langLanguage code
tabindexHelps determine the tabbing order (when the user 'tabs' through the elements on the page).
titleSpecifies a title to associate with the element. Many browsers will display this when the cursor hovers over the element (similar to a "tool tip").
styleInline style (CSS)
onfocusIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onblurIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onclickIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
ondbclickIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmousedownIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseupIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseoverIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmousemoveIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onmouseoutIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeypressIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeydownIntrinsic event (see event handlers)
onkeyupIntrinsic event (see event handlers)

Preview

View Output

HTML5 Tags

The information on this page is based on HTML version 4.01. Most modern browsers now support HTML5.

See HTML5 <a> Tag for the HTML5 version of the above element.

See this list of HTML tags for the latest list of HTML elements.

Related