A short history of hypertext
The term "hypertext" was coined by Ted Nelson in 1965 to describe non-linear, linked text. The concept became the backbone of the web when Tim Berners-Lee built the first web browser and server in 1990–1991 at CERN, using the HTML anchor element to connect documents across the internet. Every "www" link you click today descends directly from that original idea: text that points to other text.
Anatomy of an HTML hyperlink
In HTML, a hyperlink is built with the anchor element — the <a> tag:
<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Visit Example </a>
- href — the destination address (a URL, an email address prefixed with
mailto:, a phone number prefixed withtel:, or an in-page anchor prefixed with#). - anchor text — the visible, clickable words between the opening and closing tags.
- target — optionally opens the link in a new tab.
- rel — optionally describes the relationship to the destination (e.g.
nofollow,sponsored,noopener).
You can build one of these instantly with the HTML link generator instead of typing it by hand.
Types of hyperlinks
| Type | Example | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| External link | href="https://other-site.com" | Links to a different website. |
| Internal link | href="/pricing" | Links to another page on the same site. |
| Anchor / jump link | href="#section-2" | Jumps to a specific spot on the current page. |
| Email link | href="mailto:hello@example.com" | Opens the visitor's email client with a pre-filled address. |
| Telephone link | href="tel:+15551234567" | Starts a phone call on mobile devices. |
| Download link | href="file.pdf" download | Prompts the browser to download the file instead of navigating to it. |
Hyperlink vs. URL vs. anchor text
These three terms get used interchangeably, but they mean different things:
- URL (Uniform Resource Locator) — the address itself, like
https://example.com/page. On its own, plain text, it isn't clickable. - Anchor text — the visible words a person clicks, like "Read our pricing guide."
- Hyperlink — the complete clickable object: a URL wrapped in markup together with its anchor text, so a human can click it instead of typing the raw address.
Why hyperlinks matter for SEO & accessibility
Search engines use anchor text and link attributes to understand what a page is about and how much trust to pass between pages. Screen readers announce anchor text on its own, out of context — which is why generic text like "click here" is a poor choice. For the full breakdown of best practices, read Link Accessibility & SEO Best Practices.
Reference: MDN Web Docs — The Anchor element (a).
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