Glossary · Internet & Web

Hyperlink

A hyperlink is a clickable reference in a web page that takes the visitor to another page, file or section, created with the HTML anchor element.

Updated October 6, 2026

A hyperlink, or link, is an element in a document that points to another resource and lets users navigate to it by clicking. In HTML, links use the <a> element with an href attribute.

Why it matters

Links are what make the web a web. Search engines follow them to discover pages and judge importance, and visitors rely on them to navigate. Broken or misleading links hurt trust and can waste crawl effort.

Link text and the surrounding words also give context to search engines and screen reader users, who often navigate by listing all links on a page.

Example

<a href="/pricing">See pricing</a>
<a href="https://example.org" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Partner</a>

The first is an internal link; the second is external with rel hints.

Common mistakes

  • Using vague text like click here instead of describing the destination.
  • Leaving links pointing to removed pages that return 404.
  • Opening external links in new tabs without rel="noopener" in older browsers.

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