What is href?

href stands for “hypertext reference”. It is an attribute used in HTML (the language that builds web pages) to tell a link where to go. When you see a clickable piece of text or an image that takes you to another page, the destination URL is stored in the href attribute.

Let's break it down

The most common place you’ll see href is inside an <a> tag, which creates a hyperlink.
Example: <a href="https://example.com">Visit Example</a>

The value inside the quotes can be:

  • An absolute URL (starts with http:// or https://) that points to a page on any website.
  • A relative URL (like "page2.html" or "/images/photo.jpg") that points to a file on the same site.
  • A fragment identifier (like "#section1") that jumps to a part of the current page.

Other tags that use href include <link> (for stylesheets) and <area> (for image maps).

Why does it matter?

Links are the backbone of the web. href lets you connect pages, share resources, and guide users where they need to go. Without href, you couldn’t click to move between sites, and search engines wouldn’t be able to crawl and rank your content. It also helps with accessibility, because screen readers announce links based on the href value.

Where is it used?

  • In every HTML document that contains hyperlinks.
  • Inside navigation menus, footers, and sidebars.
  • In RSS feeds and XML files that reference other resources.
  • In email templates that need clickable links.
  • In web-based documentation tools (like Markdown) that output HTML with href attributes.

Good things about it

  • Simple and widely supported across all browsers.
  • Works with many protocols (http, https, mailto, ftp, tel, etc.).
  • Allows both absolute and relative linking, making site maintenance easier.
  • Enables SEO benefits by creating a network of crawlable links.
  • Can be styled with CSS and enhanced with JavaScript for richer interactions.

Not-so-good things

  • Broken links (wrong or outdated href values) lead to 404 errors and frustrate users.
  • If not validated, href can be used for phishing or malicious redirects.
  • Overusing external hrefs can slow page load times because the browser may need to fetch many different domains.
  • Requires careful encoding of special characters to avoid broken URLs.
  • In some contexts (like single-page apps) traditional href navigation can cause full page reloads unless handled specially.