HTML Links Beyond href — target, rel, download & Anchors

The <a> tag has more depth than href. These details separate careful developers from copy-pasters.

The full toolkit

<a href="https://x.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New tab</a>
<!-- noopener: new page can't control yours (security) -->

<a href="#pricing">Jump to section</a>   <!-- needs id="pricing" -->
<a href="report.pdf" download="AU-Report.pdf">Download</a>
<a href="mailto:hi@site.com?subject=Query">Email us</a>
<a href="tel:+919876543210">Call</a>
<a href="https://wa.me/919876543210?text=Hi">WhatsApp</a>

Details that matter

• rel="nofollow" — tells Google not to pass ranking credit (use on untrusted/paid links)
• Smooth anchor scrolling: html { scroll-behavior: smooth; } + scroll-margin-top so targets clear your sticky navbar
• Link states order in CSS: LoVe-HAte — :link, :visited, :hover, :active

Full lesson: HTML Links.