About the HTML Link Generator
An anchor is four characters of markup that people still get wrong in three ways. The first is the link text. Words like click here or read more tell nobody where they lead, and someone tabbing through links out of context hears a list of identical phrases, so write text that describes the destination on its own. The second is target="_blank" without rel. Modern browsers imply noopener, but older ones let the opened page reach back through window.opener and change the tab it came from, so this generator adds noopener noreferrer whenever you open a new tab.
The third is rel="nofollow", which asks search engines not to pass ranking credit through the link. It belongs on paid placements, untrusted user submitted URLs and comment links. Putting it on your own internal navigation just wastes the signal.
The download attribute tells the browser to save the target rather than navigate to it, which is handy for a PDF or a CSV that would otherwise open in a viewer. It is honoured only for same origin URLs and for blob and data URLs, so a cross origin link keeps navigating normally. title adds a tooltip on hover, but it never appears on touch devices and is unreliable with a keyboard, so treat it as a bonus rather than a place for information people need. To build a mailto link with a subject and body, or to check a URL first, the URL Parser shows exactly what your address contains.
How to use
- Paste the destination URL.
- Write descriptive link text that makes sense on its own.
- Tick new tab, nofollow or download if they apply.
- Copy the anchor into your page.
Common questions
- Do I still need rel="noopener" with target="_blank"?
- Current browsers imply it, but older ones do not, and adding it costs nothing. This generator includes noopener noreferrer automatically.
- When should I use nofollow?
- On paid links, sponsored placements and untrusted user submitted URLs. Internal links should stay followable.
- Why does my download attribute not work?
- It only applies to same origin, blob and data URLs. Cross origin links ignore it and navigate as usual.
- Is a title attribute a good place for extra detail?
- No. It never shows on touch screens and is inconsistent for keyboard users, so put anything important in the link text.