What

  • Hyperlink: A website link, also known as a hyperlink, is a digital pathway between two web pages or resources on the internet. It allows users to navigate from one place to another with a single click.
  • Navigation: The primary purpose of a link is to guide users to other relevant content within a website or across different websites.
  • Information Transfer: Links can also connect to downloadable files, images, videos, or emails, facilitating access to various types of information.

Types of Links:

  • Internal Links: These connect different pages within the same website, encouraging users to explore its content comprehensively.
  • External Links: These connect to pages on other websites, providing access to relevant external resources and information.
  • User Interaction: Links can trigger specific actions when clicked, such as opening a pop-up window, submitting a form, or playing media.

Why

Some benefits links provide

  • Visibility: They should be easily recognisable by being underlined and the text a different colour to the text colour like blue.
  • Improved User Experience: Links enable easy navigation with minimum effort.
  • Screen readers have a link mode where they identify the link with an announcement where it would tell the suer how many links were on the page and visiting them would provide more detailed information about the link reading the link name and title if present (See titles).
  • SEO Optimization: Search engines consider internal and external links as factors for website ranking, boosting search visibility. Reciprocal links where two or more websites link back to each other, sometimes known are backlinks are really useful for SEO purposes.
  • Website Structure: Links help organise website content effectively, creating a clear hierarchy and enhancing user understanding. Within a website to have the ability to move from one content area to another referenced are can be massively enhanced by internal links - like the titles link on this page.
  • Content Sharing and Discovery: Links enable users to share information and navigate through related content, promoting discovery and exploration within the web.

How

  • Anchor Text: This is the visible text users click on, offering a descriptive clue about the linked content.
  • URL/Link Address: This is the unique identifier of the linked resource, specifying its location on the internet.
  • Hyperlink Attribute: The HTML code behind the link defines its destination and behaviour when clicked.