What is a hyperlink?

A hyperlink, also called a link, is a word, image or button you click to go somewhere else. It takes you to another web page, a file, a new email or a different part of the page you're reading.

The two words mean the same thing, and even programs use both. In Microsoft Word, for example, you select Link to open a box called Insert Hyperlink.

How do links work?

Every link has two parts: the words or image you click, and the address behind them. On a web page, both parts sit in one line of HTML, the code that web pages are written in:

<a href="https://www.yourdoggroomer.co.uk/opening-times">See our opening times</a>

The words between the tags, "See our opening times", are the link text, also called anchor text: the visible part of the link that visitors click. The web address after href is where the link goes, so when you click the link, your browser opens that address.

You can spot a link because it's usually underlined and in a different colour from the text around it. To see where a link goes before you click, hover over it with your mouse, and most browsers and email programs show the address. If that address doesn't match what the link text promises, it's safer not to click.

What are the different types of hyperlinks?

Hyperlinks are named after where they take you:

• Internal links go to another page on the same website, such as from your homepage to your contact page. They're how visitors move between the pages of your website.
• External links go to a page on another website, for example a supplier's website or a source you mention, so visitors can read more there.
• Jump links take you to another part of the same page, such as a section further down a long article. Some people call them anchor links, which isn't the same thing as anchor text, the words you click.
• Email links open a new email to the address in the link. In HTML, their address starts with mailto: instead of https://.
• File links open or download a file, such as a PDF price list.

Any of these can be a few words, an image such as a logo that takes you back to the homepage, or a button.

How do you create a hyperlink?

You create a hyperlink by connecting the words or image people click to the address they should go to. In HTML, that connection is the a element shown above. On your own website, you rarely write that element yourself: in WordPress, for example, you select the text in the editor and use the Insert links tool to add a hyperlink to it, and the editor writes the HTML for you. In Word and Outlook, you add a link without any code:

1. Select the text or picture you want people to click.
2. Open the Insert tab and choose Link. Right-clicking your selection and choosing Link works too.
3. Type or paste the web address in the Address box. If you don't see the Address box, select Existing File or Web Page under Link to.
4. If you want different words on the link, change them in the Text to display box.

If you type a full web address in Word and press Enter or the space bar straight after it, Word turns the address into a working link by itself.

How to use hyperlinks on your website

Good links make it easier for visitors to find what they're looking for:

• Write link text that says where the link goes, and keep it short. "See our opening times" tells visitors what's on the next page; "click here" tells them nothing. Clear link text also helps visitors who use a screen reader, because it makes sense on its own when the link is read out.
• Keep links looking like links. Visitors expect them to be underlined or coloured, so don't style ordinary text the same way.
• Give every new page a link from at least one other page, for example from your navigation menu or a related page.
• Link each page to the pages a visitor would want to read next, such as from a service to its prices.

How hyperlinks help search engines find your pages

Google finds new pages by following the links on pages it already knows, and it uses links as a signal of which pages are relevant. Generally, Google can only crawl a link that's written as an a element with an href, like the example above, and its crawlers, the programs that visit pages by following links, usually skip links in other formats. Google also reads the link text to work out what the page it points to is about, so clear link text helps your SEO too.

Pages that no other page links to are called orphan pages. Visitors can't click their way to them, and Google can't find them by following your links either, which makes it harder for them to get into Google's index.

The easiest time to make sure no page is left without a link is while you're building your website, when you decide which pages it has and how they lead to each other. Our AI website builder creates your website and its pages from a short chat about your business. When you need another page or a change to your menu, you ask for it in the chat, and you can edit the text and images yourself.