Problem: You want to turn a certain bit of text into a link to another web page.
Solution: Many blogging and email programs have a button that helps you do this. The button usually has a picture of a globe (world wide web) with a section of chain superimposed on it (chain . . . links–get it?). To use such a button, first open the website you want to link to in another tab of your browser. Then select and copy the web address you want to link to. Next, go to the text you want to turn into a link, and select it. Then click on the make-a-link button. A window will open. It usually already has the http:// part in the form box. Select that and then paste your web address over it. Then click the OK button. Your text should now be a link.
What if I don’t have that button?
This is often the case when you want to include a link in a comment. You will just have to type out this bit of code very carefully by hand:
<a href="http://www.example.com" title="Link to example website">text that turns into the link</a>
Href holds the web address inside of quotes. Title holds the text that shows up when the cursor is hovered over the link without clicking on it. It explains the link. The text that turns into the link (becomes clickable) will always have single arrows (or less than and greater than signs) pointing at it.
However, I’d like to point out that some blogs, such as this one, do help you create links in the comments. Some actually have buttons, and some have fine print with the structure of the link code provided, like this: <a href="" title=""></a> Copy this code into your comment. Then put the web address in between the first set of quotes. Put the explanation for the link inside the second set of quotes. And put the text that you want to become clickable between the ><.
Update: This web document labels all the parts of a link and color codes them for easy reference.
Thanks to K. Johnson for asking this question.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Give some thought to the text that you highlight when you create your link. It’s a rule of thumb that visitors to a page look first at where they can go from that page almost before looking at the real content of the page. Eyes are drawn quickly to hyperlinked text. It should be descriptive of what folks will find at the other end of the click. Avoid hyperlinking ‘click here’ like the plague.
Craig, that is an excellent point, one that I heartily agree with.
Hi Kathy,
I just discovered your very useful and easy to understand Web site about the “Art and Practice” of blogging. Actually, I’ve been blogging for years on Xanga but that site doesn’t teach you “how.”
I’m a freelance garden writer who also has a facsimile of a garden blog that I’ve been messing around with. I’m bookmarking this site so I’ll be sure to have it close at hand for referencing. Thanks!
Hi Kathy,
I have set up a blog on wordpress but the button to insert a link is disabled. Is this something that wordpress may have done or can I enable it so I can insert links?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Thanks I have been searching the internet for hours to gain this info, thanks
testing
yeah but what about email address links (as on the footer of articles)?
Thanks, let’s see if this works!
test
Thank you for your step by step help with inserting hyperlinks!
text that turns into the link
There are blogs where you are not allowed to put the anchor (“A”) tags, but I’ve seen them with text link’s in some messages, is there any other tag that allows text with link’s?
Thank’s
E.Qi.Librium
Not that I know of.