HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Using Links on a Web Page
As you have learned, many different Web page elements, including text, images, and
animations, can serve as links. Text and images are the elements most widely used as links.
Figure 3-2 shows examples of text and image links.
text links
image
links
Figure 3-2 Text and image links on a Web page.
When using text links on a Web page, use descriptive text as the clickable word or
phrase. For example, the phrase “Click here” does not explain the purpose of the link to
the visitor. By contrast, the phrase “SAVE MONEY” (in Figure 3-2) indicates that the
link connects to a Web page with discounted airline tickets.
When a link is identified with text, it often appears as underlined text, in a color
different from the main Web page text. Unless otherwise changed in the anchor <a> or
<body> tags, the browser settings define the colors of text links throughout a Web page.
For example, with Internet Explorer, the default color for a normal link that has not been
clicked (or visited) is blue, a visited link is purple, and an active link (a link just clicked by
a user) varies in color. Figure 3-3 on the next page shows examples of text links in normal
and visited states. Generally, moving the mouse pointer over a link causes the mouse
pointer to change to a pointing hand. This change notifies the user that a link is available
from that text or image.
Link Help
Many Web sites provide
help for new HTML5
developers. For more
information about links,
search for keywords such
as “HTML5 Tutorials” or
“HTML5 Help” in any
good search engine.
