HTML <link> Element
The HTML <link>
tag represents a link to an external resource.
The <link>
element is often used to link to an external style sheet, but it's usage is not restricted to this. For example, it can also be used for defining a relational framework for a site's navigation, and it can also provide useful information to search engines.
The basic tag is written like this <link rel=">
with the rel
attribute providing the relationship between the HTML document and the destination resource. For example rel="stylesheet"
indicates that the external resource is a style sheet for the current document.
Similarly to the <a>
tag, the <link>
tag creates a hyperlink. However, the hyperlink established with the <link>
tag is not normally as apparent to the user as those created with the <a>
tag. Also, if the <link>
element has the rel
attribute defined, the element must be located in the document's <head>
.
Note that the W3C HTML5 recommendation states that A
. However, the WHATWG HTML Living Standard states link
element must have a rel
attribute.A
link
element must have a rel
attribute or an itemprop
attribute, but not both.
Also note that hyperlinks created with the <link>
element and its rel
attribute apply to the whole page. This contrasts with the rel
attribute of <a>
and <area>
elements, which indicates the type of a link whose context is given by the link's location within the document.
Example
The following example shows how this element works.
Code
Result
Attributes
The <link>
element accepts the following attributes.
Local Attributes
The following attributes are defined in the <link>
element's specification.
Attribute | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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href | Specifies the URL of the resource document. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
crossorigin | This attribute is a CORS settings attribute. CORS stands for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing. The purpose of the crossorigin attribute is to allow you to configure the CORS requests for the element's fetched data. The values for the crossorigin attribute are enumerated.
Possible values:
If this attribute is not specified, CORS is not used at all. An invalid keyword and an empty string will be handled as the |
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hreflang | Language code of the destination URL. Purely advisory. The value must be a valid RFC 3066 language code. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
media | Specifies which media the target URL uses. Only to be used when the href attribute is present.
Value: [The value must be a valid media query. The default value is |
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rel | Describes the relationship between the current document and the destination resource. Multiple values can be provided, separated by a space.
Possible values:
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type | The MIME type of content at the link destination. Purely advisory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
sizes | Specifies the sizes of icons for visual media. Can be used for favicons. Multiple values can be provided, as long as they're separated by a space.
Examples:
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Global Attributes
The <link>
element accepts the following global attributes. These attributes are standard across all HTML 5 elements.
Attribute | Description | ||||||||||||
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accesskey | Specifies a shortcut key that can be used to access this <link> element.
Possible values. [Any string of characters. This string of characters specifies the key/s the user needs to use in order to access the element.] |
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class | This is a document wide identifier. It is used to refer to a class that is specified in the style sheet. The value should match the name of the class you wish to use. | ||||||||||||
contenteditable | This attribute specifies whether the user can edit the content or not.
Possible values:
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contextmenu | The contextmenu attribute sets a context menu for an element. The value must be the ID of a menu element in the DOM. |
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dir | Specifies the direction of the text.
Possible values:
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draggable | Specifies whether the user is allowed to drag this <link> element or not.
Possible values:
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dropzone | The dropzone attribute specifies what should happen when the user "drops" an element (i.e. after dragging it) onto this <link> element.
Must be an unordered set of unique space-separated tokens that are ASCII case-insensitive. Possible values:
Note that this attribute must not have more than one of the three feedback values (copy, move, and link) specified. If none are specified, the copy value is implied. |
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hidden | Indicates that this particular This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either Possible values:
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id | The id attribute is a document wide identifier, which is used in conjunction with CSS and JavaScript. The value must match the name of the id you wish to use.
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itemid | The itemid provides a global identifier for an "item". This attribute is optional, however if it is provided, it must have a value that is a valid URL potentially surrounded by spaces.
The |
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itemprop | This attribute provides one or more properties to one or more "items".
Although this attribute is optional, if used it must have a value that is an unordered set of unique space-separated tokens that are case-sensitive, representing the names of the name-value pairs that it adds. The attribute's value must have at least one token. Each token must be one of the following:
Also, |
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itemref | This attribute is used in conjunction with the |
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itemscope | HTML5 elements that have the itemscope attribute create a name-value pair called an "item". Elements with an itemscope attribute may also have an itemtype attribute specified, to give the item types of the item.
This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either Possible values:
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itemtype | This attribute provides an item type for elements containing the itemscope attribute. The attribute is optional but if it is specified, it must have a value that is an unordered set of unique space-separated tokens that are case-sensitive, each of which is a valid URL that is an absolute URL, and all of which are defined to use the same vocabulary. The attribute's value must have at least one token.
The |
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lang | Sets the language code to be used.
Possible values: [Must be a valid RFC 3066 language code, or an empty string.] |
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spellcheck | Specifies whether the element should have its spelling checked.
If this attribute is missing, the element will use the default behavior, possibly based on the parent's own |
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style | Specifies inline styles for this <link> element. This allows you to define the styles within the page, and within this <link> tag, as opposed to referring to styles defined elsewhere (such as an external style sheet). Although this can be useful for over-riding external styles, it is usually preferrable to use external styles in conjunction with the class attribute and/or the id attribute.
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tabindex | Helps determine the tabbing order for the element (for when the user uses the "tab" key on their keyboard to "tab" through the elements on the page in order to select an element).
Possible values: [Any valid integer. For example, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...etc] |
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title | Specifies a title to associate with this particular <link> element. Many browsers will display this when the cursor hovers over the element (similar to a "tool tip").
Possible values: [Any text to be displayed as a "tool tip".] |
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translate | Determines whether the element's attribute values and the values of its Text node children are to be translated when the page is localized, or whether to leave them unchanged.
The
If the |
Event Handlers
This element also accepts various event handlers. Event handlers are commonly used to extend the functionality of an HTML element.
For a list of event handlers that you can use with this element, see Event handlers on elements, Document objects, and Window objects at the W3C website.
More Information About the <link>
Element
Content Categories |
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Can be used |
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Content model | Empty. |
End Tag Required? | No. You can only use a start tag when using the <link> element, it must not have a closing tag.
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DOM Interface | HTMLLinkElement |
Specifications for the <link>
Element
Here is the <link>
element defined in the various specifications:
- W3C (HTML5)
- WHATWG (HTML Living Standard)
- W3C HTML 4.01 Specification (previous version of HTML)