Difference between Link and a href in React (2024)

FAQs

Difference between Link and a href in React? ›

A <Link> is an element that lets the user navigate to another page by clicking or tapping on it. In react-router-dom , a <Link> renders an accessible <a> element with a real href that points to the resource it's linking to. This means that things like right-clicking a <Link> work as you'd expect.

The most important attribute of the <a> element is the href attribute, which indicates the link's destination. The link text is the part that will be visible to the reader. Clicking on the link text, will send the reader to the specified URL address.

Note: Use the NavLink or Link when you need links that are routing to pages that belong to your application. For external links, a is preferrable. The anchor tag a : This is used for links outside your webpage. See the example below.

Overview of the Tag

This href attribute contains the URL or path to the destination page. It may be a relative URL or an absolute URL. In React, relative URLs should always be handled by the link tag provided by the React Router, and pure anchor tags should only be used for absolute paths.

Answer. Links that are built with anchor elements ( <a> ) are not accessible without an href value. The href value determines what page or content a user will be directed to once the link is activated.

What are the differences between link and hyperlink? A link is simply a connection between two different points, whereas a hyperlink is a type of link that uses HTML code which when clicked on will direct the user to another internet page. This can be within the same website, or to an external website.

An HREF attribute is found within an anchor tag (a) in HTML. For example, if you want to link to example.com, you would write it in HTML as <a href="http://www.example.com">Visit Example</a>.

As some of the other answers have pointed out, the a element requires an href attribute and the # is used as a placeholder, but it is also a historical artifact. This was the single required attribute for anchors defining a hypertext source link, but is no longer required in HTML5.

href stands for hypertext reference. It's the source of the file used by the tag.

The `<Link>` helps the user navigate from one component to another in an SPA (Single-page application) without reloading the entire web page. To have a better understanding of how the `<Link>` Component works in React let's take a look at how the browser handles the `<a>` tag when a user clicks on it.

Why use a link instead of a tag? ›

You can read the whole difference on geeks for geeks. In HTML, the <a> tag is used to create a hyperlink to another web page or to a specific location within the current web page. The <link> tag is used to link to external resources, such as stylesheets or other external files, from within an HTML document.

Core Differences at a Glance

While a link simply refers to the conceptual connection between resources, a hyperlink is the specific implementation of this concept within web pages.

Definition and Usage. The href attribute specifies the URL of the page the link goes to. If the href attribute is not present, the <a> tag will not be a hyperlink.

You can use HREF JavaScript. On a procedural and computer level, it won't cause any issues. It will be, essentially, identical to using the onClick function of the link.

You'll most often see the href attribute used to link to another web page on the same domain or a different domain. href can also be used for other things, like linking to a different part of the same page, or serving a different web protocol than HTTPS.

You'll most often see the href attribute used to link to another web page on the same domain or a different domain. href can also be used for other things, like linking to a different part of the same page, or serving a different web protocol than HTTPS.

Major difference between both is that href kills the state of the current page where routerLink doesnt lose the state of the page. Navigating using href: href is the default attribute provided by browsers for navigating (switching) between pages, where the entire page will be get re-loaded losing the current state.

Strictly speaking, however, they are different – a link describes the function, which is to take you from one place on the internet to another, while the URL describes the location itself, the place you want to go.

The <a> HTML element (or anchor element), with its href attribute, creates a hyperlink to web pages, files, email addresses, locations in the same page, or anything else a URL can address. Content within each <a> should indicate the link's destination.