--- title: ': The Anchor element' slug: Web/HTML/Element/a tags: - فارسی translation_of: Web/HTML/Element/a ---
{{HTMLRef}}

The HTML <a> 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. Content within each <a> should indicate the link's destination.

{{EmbedInteractiveExample("pages/tabbed/a.html")}}

Attributes

This element's attributes include the global attributes.

{{HTMLAttrDef("download")}}{{HTMLVersionInline(5)}}
Prompts the user to save the linked URL instead of navigating to it. Can be used with or without a value:
Notes:
  • download only works for same-origin URLs, or the blob: and data: schemes.

  • Note: if the Content-Disposition header has different information from the download attribute, resulting behaviour may differ:

    • If the header specifies a filename, it takes priority over the attribute.

    • If the header specifies a disposition of inline but no filename, Chrome, and Firefox 82 and later, prioritize the attribute and treat it as a download. Firefox versions before 82 prioritize the header and will display the content.

{{HTMLAttrDef("href")}}

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

{{HTMLAttrDef("hreflang")}}
Hints at the human language of the linked URL. No built-in functionality. Allowed values are the same as the global lang attribute.
{{HTMLAttrDef("ping")}}
A space-separated list of URLs. When the link is followed, the browser will send {{HTTPMethod("POST")}} requests with the body PING to the URLs. Typically for tracking.
{{HTMLAttrDef("referrerpolicy")}}{{Experimental_Inline}}
How much of the referrer to send when following the link. See Referrer-Policy for possible values and their effects.
{{HTMLAttrDef("rel")}}
The relationship of the linked URL as space-separated link types.
{{HTMLAttrDef("target")}}
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:

Note: When using target, add rel="noreferrer noopener" to avoid exploitation of the window.opener API;

Note: In newer browser versions (e.g. Firefox 79+) setting target="_blank" on <a> elements implicitly provides the same rel behavior as setting rel="noopener".

{{HTMLAttrDef("type")}}
Hints at the linked URL’s format with a {{Glossary("MIME type")}}. No built-in functionality.

Obsolete attributes

{{HTMLAttrDef("charset")}}{{Obsolete_Inline("HTML5")}}
Hinted at the {{Glossary("character encoding")}} of the linked URL.

Note: This attribute is obsolete and should not be used by authors. Use the HTTP {{HTTPHeader("Content-Type")}} header on the linked URL.

{{HTMLAttrDef("coords")}}{{Obsolete_Inline("HTML5")}}
Used with the shape attribute. A comma-separated list of coordinates.
{{HTMLAttrDef("name")}}{{Obsolete_Inline("HTML5")}}
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.

Note: Use the global attribute {{HTMLAttrxRef("id")}} instead.

{{HTMLAttrDef("rev")}}{{Obsolete_Inline("HTML5")}}
Specified a reverse link; the opposite of the rel attribute. Deprecated for being very confusing.
{{HTMLAttrDef("shape")}}{{Obsolete_Inline("HTML5")}}
The shape of the hyperlink’s region in an image map.
Note: Use the {{HTMLElement("area")}} element for image maps instead.

Properties

Content categories Flow content, phrasing content, interactive content, palpable content.
Permitted content Transparent, containing either flow content (excluding interactive content) or phrasing content.
Tag omission {{no_tag_omission}}
Permitted parents Any element that accepts phrasing content, or any element that accepts flow content, but not other <a> elements.
Implicit ARIA role {{ARIARole("link")}} when href attribute is present, otherwise no corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles

When href attribute is present:

  • {{ARIARole("button")}}
  • {{ARIARole("checkbox")}}
  • {{ARIARole("menuitem")}}
  • {{ARIARole("menuitemcheckbox")}}
  • {{ARIARole("menuitemradio")}}
  • {{ARIARole("option")}}
  • {{ARIARole("radio")}}
  • {{ARIARole("switch")}}
  • {{ARIARole("tab")}}
  • {{ARIARole("treeitem")}}

When href attribute is not present:

  • any
DOM interface {{DOMxRef("HTMLAnchorElement")}}

Examples

Linking to an absolute URL

HTML

<a href="https://www.mozilla.com">
  Mozilla
</a>

Result

{{EmbedLiveSample('Linking_to_an_absolute_URL')}}

Linking to relative URLs

HTML

<a href="//example.com">Scheme-relative URL</a>
<a href="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML">Origin-relative URL</a>
<a href="./p">Directory-relative URL</a>

Result

{{EmbedLiveSample('Linking_to_relative_URLs')}}

Linking to an element on the same page

<!-- <a> element links to the section below -->
<p><a href="#Section_further_down">
  Jump to the heading below
</a></p>

<!-- Heading to link to -->
<h2 id="Section_further_down">Section further down</h2>

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.

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:

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

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>
<a href="tel:+1(555)5309">(555) 5309</a>

tel: link behavior varies with device capabilities:

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 {{HTMLElement("canvas")}} element’s contents as an image, you can create a link with a download attribute and the canvas data as a data: URL:

HTML
<p>Paint by holding down the mouse button and moving it.
  <a href="" download="my_painting.png">Download my painting</a>
</p>

<canvas width="300" height="300"></canvas>
CSS
html {
  font-family: sans-serif;
}
canvas {
  background: #fff;
  border: 1px dashed;
}
a {
  display: inline-block;
  background: #69c;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 5px 10px;
}
JavaScript
var canvas = document.querySelector('canvas'),
    c = canvas.getContext('2d');
c.fillStyle = 'hotpink';

function draw(x, y) {
  if (isDrawing) {
    c.beginPath();
    c.arc(x, y, 10, 0, Math.PI*2);
    c.closePath();
    c.fill();
  }
}

canvas.addEventListener('mousemove', event =>
  draw(event.offsetX, event.offsetY)
);
canvas.addEventListener('mousedown', () => isDrawing = true);
canvas.addEventListener('mouseup', () => isDrawing = false);

document.querySelector('a').addEventListener('click', event =>
  event.target.href = canvas.toDataURL()
);
Result

{{EmbedLiveSample('Example_painting_app_with_save_link', '100%', '400')}}

Security and privacy

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

Using target="_blank" without rel="noreferrer" and rel="noopener" makes the website vulnerable to {{domxref("window.opener")}} API exploitation attacks (vulnerability description), although note that, in newer browser versions (e.g. Firefox 79+) setting target="_blank" implicitly provides the same protection as setting rel="noopener".

Accessibility

Strong link text

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

Inaccessible, weak link text

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

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

Strong link text

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

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

Assistive software have 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 .

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.

Use a {{HTMLElement("button")}} instead. In general, you should only use a hyperlink for navigation to a real URL.

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.

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.

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

<a href="2017-annual-report.ppt">
  2017 Annual Report (PowerPoint)
</a>

If an icon is used to signify link behavior, make sure it has {{HTMLAttrxRef("alt", "img", "alt text", "true")}}:

<a  target="_blank" href="https://www.wikipedia.org">
  Wikipedia
  <img alt="(opens in new tab)" src="newtab.svg">
</a>

<a href="2017-annual-report.ppt">
  2017 Annual Report
  <img alt="(PowerPoint file)" src="ppt-icon.svg">
</a>

A skip link is a link placed as early as possible in {{HTMLElement("body")}} content that points to the beginning of the page's main content. Usually, CSS hides a skip link offscreen until focused.

<body>
  <a href="#content">Skip to main content</a>

  <header>
    …
  </header>

  <main id="content"> <!-- The skip link jumps to here -->

.skip-link {
  position: absolute;
  top: -3em;
  background: #fff;
}
.skip-link:focus {
  top: 0;
}

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

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.

Size and proximity

Size

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.

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.

Proximity

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.

Spacing may be created using CSS properties like {{CSSxRef("margin")}}.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
{{SpecName("Referrer Policy", "#referrer-policy-delivery-referrer-attribute", "referrer attribute")}} {{Spec2("Referrer Policy")}} Added the referrerpolicy attribute.
{{SpecName("HTML WHATWG", "textlevel-semantics.html#the-a-element", "<a>")}} {{Spec2("HTML WHATWG")}}
{{SpecName("HTML5 W3C", "textlevel-semantics.html#the-a-element", "<a>")}} {{Spec2("HTML5 W3C")}}
{{SpecName("HTML4.01", "struct/links.html#h-12.2", "<a>")}} {{Spec2("HTML4.01")}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat("html.elements.a")}}

See also