Link types
In HTML, link types indicate the relationship between two documents, in which one links to the other using an <a>
, <area>
, <form>
, or <link>
element.
Link Type | Description | Allowed in these elements | Not allowed in these elements |
---|---|---|---|
alternate |
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
archives |
Defines a hyperlink to a document that contains an archive link to this
one. For example, a blog entry could link to a monthly index page this
way. Note: Although recognized, the singular archive is incorrect and must be avoided.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
author |
Defines a hyperlink to a page describing the author or providing a way
to contact the author. Note: This may be a mailto: hyperlink, but this is not recommended on public
pages as robot harvesters will quickly lead to a lot of spam sent to the
address. In that case, it is better to lead to a page containing a
contact form.Although recognized, the rev attribute on
<a> , <area>
or<link> elements with a link type of
made is incorrect and should be replaced by the
rel attribute with this link type.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
bookmark |
Indicates that the hyperlink is a
permalink for the nearest ancestor
<article> element. If none, it is a permalink
for the
section that
the element is most closely associated to.This allows for bookmarking a single article in a page containing multiple articles, such as on a monthly summary blog page, or a blog aggregator. |
<a> , <area> |
<link> , <form> |
canonical |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Canonical_link_element A canonical link element is an HTML element that helps webmasters prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the "canonical" or "preferred" version of a web page as part of search engine optimization. |
<link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
dns-prefetch
|
Hints to the browser that a resource is needed, allowing the browser to do a DNS lookup and protocol handshaking before a user clicks the link. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
external |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to a resource outside the site of the current page; that is, following the link will make the user leave the site. |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
<link> |
first |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to the first resource of the
sequence the current page is in. Note: Other link types related to linking resources in the same sequence are last , prev ,
next .Although recognized, the synonyms begin and start are incorrect and must be
avoided.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
help |
<a> , <area> ,
<form> , <link>
|
None. | |
icon |
Defines a resource for representing the page in the user interface,
usually an icon (auditory or visual). In the browser, it is usually
referred to as the favicon. If there are multiple <link rel="icon"> s, the browser
uses their media ,
type , and
sizes attributes to select the
most appropriate icon. If several icons are equally appropriate, the
last one is used. If the most appropriate icon is later found to be
inappropriate, for example because it uses an unsupported format, the
browser proceeds to the next-most appropriate, and so on.
Note: Apple's iOS does not use this link type, nor
the
Warning: The |
<link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
index |
Indicates that the page is part of a hierarchical structure and
that the hyperlink leads to the top level resource of that structure. If one or several up link types are also present, the number
of these up indicates the depth of the current page in the
hierarchy.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
last |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to the last resource of the
sequence the current page is in. Note: Other link types related to linking resources in the same sequence are first , prev ,
next .Although recognized, the synonym end is incorrect and must be avoided.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
license |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to a document describing the
licensing information. If not inside the
<head> element, the standard doesn't
distinguish between a hyperlink applying to a specific part of the
document or to the document as a whole. Only the data on the page can
indicate this.Note: Although recognized, the synonym copyright is incorrect and must be avoided.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<form> , <link>
|
None. |
manifest |
Indicates that the linked file is a Web App Manifest. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
me |
Indicates that the current document is represented by the person to which the me value links. The me value is commonly used in distributed forms of verification such as RelMeAuth. | <link> , <a> |
<area> , <form> |
modulepreload |
Initiates early (and high-priority) loading of module scripts. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
next |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to the next resource of the
sequence the current page is in. Note: Other link types related to linking resources in the same sequence are first , prev , last .
|
<a> , <area> ,
<form> , <link>
|
None. |
nofollow |
Indicates that the linked document is not endorsed by the author of this one, for example if it has no control over it, if it is a bad example or if there is commercial relationship between the two (sold link). This link type may be used by some search engines that use popularity ranking techniques. |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
<link> |
noopener |
Instructs the browser to open the link without granting the new
browsing context access to the document that opened it — by not
setting the
Note that when |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
<link> |
noreferrer |
Prevents the browser, when navigating to another page, to send this
page address, or any other value, as referrer via the
|
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
<link> |
opener |
Reverts implicit |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
<link> |
pingback |
Defines an external resource URI to call if one wishes to make a comment
or a citation about the webpage. The protocol used to make such a call
is defined in the
Pingback 1.0
specification. Note: if the X-Pingback: HTTP header is also present, it supersedes the
<link> element with this link type.
|
<link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
preconnect
|
Provides a hint to the browser suggesting that it open a connection to the linked web site in advance, without disclosing any private information or downloading any content, so that when the link is followed the linked content can be fetched more quickly. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
prefetch |
Suggests that the browser fetch the linked resource in advance, as it is
likely to be requested by the user. Starting with Firefox 44, the value
of the crossorigin attribute is
taken into consideration, making it possible to make anonymous
prefetches.Note: The Link Prefetch FAQ has details on which links can be prefetched and on alternative methods. |
<link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
preload |
Tells the browser to download a resource because this resource will be needed later during the current navigation. See Preloading content with rel="preload" for more details. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
prerender
|
Suggests that the browser fetch the linked resource in advance, and that it also render the prefetched content offscreen so it can be quickly presented to the user once needed. | <link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
prev |
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to the preceding resource of
the sequence the current page is in. Note: You can also use the next keyword to specify a link to the
next page in the sequence.Although recognized, the synonym previous is incorrect and must be avoided.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link> , <form>
|
None. |
search |
Indicates that the hyperlink references a document whose interface is
specially designed for searching in this document, or site, and its
resources. If the type
attribute is set to
application/opensearchdescription+xml the resource is an
OpenSearch plugin that can be
easily added to the interface of some browsers like Firefox or Internet
Explorer.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link> , <form>
|
None. |
shortlink |
shortlink SpecificationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: URL shortening Some websites create short links to make sharing links via instant messaging easier. |
<link> |
??? |
sidebar
|
Indicates that the hyperlink leads to a resource that would be better
suited for a secondary browsing context, like a sidebar.
Browsers, that don't have such a context will ignore this keyword. While once part of the HTML specification, this has been removed from the spec and is only implemented by versions of Firefox prior to Firefox 63. |
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
stylesheet |
Defines an external resource to be used as a stylesheet. If the
type is not set, the browser should assume it is a
text/css stylesheet until further inspection.If used in combination with the alternate keyword, it defines
an
alternative style sheet; in that case the title
attribute must be present and not be the empty string.
|
<link> |
<a> , <area> ,
<form>
|
tag |
Indicates that the hyperlink refers to a document describing a
tag that applies to this document. Note: This link type should not be set on links to a member of a tag cloud as these do not apply to a single document but to a set of pages. |
<a> , <area> |
<link> , <form> |
up |
Indicates that the page is part of a hierarchical structure and
that the hyperlink leads to the higher level resource of that
structure. The number of up link types indicates
the depth difference between the current page and the linked resource.
|
<a> , <area> ,
<link>
|
<form> |
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # linkTypes |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser