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A web page is a particular online resource or interactive experience; a web page link, usually called a hyperlink, connects a place on that page to another resource or location. In HTML, the familiar way to create one is an <a> element with an href destination.

What is a web page?

For accessibility conformance, WCAG 2.2 defines a web page as “a non-embedded resource obtained from a single URI using HTTP plus any other resources that are used in the rendering or intended to be rendered together with it by a user agent.” In practical terms, the page is the main resource identified by one web address, along with the supporting resources a browser uses to display it. W3C’s WCAG 2.2 explanation of conformance gives the definition and examples.

This precise WCAG definition is useful when discussing accessibility requirements. In everyday use, “web page” can be less formal, but it does not mean only a standalone file ending in .html.

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A page can be interactive

A web page may change what it displays or how it behaves while retaining the same overall URI. W3C’s examples include webmail with inbox, contacts, and calendar views, as well as an interactive shopping environment. A page can therefore act more like an application than a printed document.

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A page is not the same as a website

A website is a collection or experience that may include several web pages. A single-page website can also satisfy WCAG’s definition of a web page. The distinction is between the particular resource or experience being viewed and the broader site that may contain or organize it.

What is a web page link?

A web page link, or hyperlink, connects a source location—the place the link begins—to a destination. The destination can be another web page, a file, or a specific location within the current page. W3C’s HTML 4.01 specification describes a link as a connection from one Web resource to another; the source and destination are often called anchors. W3C’s explanation of links in HTML documents outlines that model.

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Links are commonly recognizable as underlined or differently colored text, but they can also be attached to images or other content. Their appearance can vary by design; what matters is that activating the link takes the user to its destination.

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How does a link work in HTML?

The standard HTML anchor element, <a>, creates a hyperlink when it has an href attribute containing a destination. For example:

<a href="https://example.com/help">Visit the help page</a>

Here, “Visit the help page” is the clickable source text, and the URL in href is its destination. The anchor can point to another page or resource, or to a fragment identifier for a location in a page. MDN’s reference for the HTML anchor element covers its current behavior and attributes.

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How are the Web and the Internet different?

The Internet is the underlying global network infrastructure. The World Wide Web, often shortened to “the Web,” is one system of interconnected resources made available through the Internet. A web page is one resource or experience within that system; a link is one way those resources are connected. The terms are related, but they are not synonyms. MDN’s World Wide Web glossary entry explains the distinction.

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