Creating Anchors Using the <A> Tag

An anchor is simply a link from one place in a document to another place in the same document.  You'll find anchors to be a useful navigation tool to bring users to a specific area on your page without a lot of scrolling.  Anchors are especially useful on long pages.  For those already somewhat familiar with HTML, you'll notice that the anchor tag is the same tag used to link your pages together.  The only difference with the anchor tag is the specification of the NAME attribute.

How To Use the Anchor Tag

To simplify things, let's say you want to move your visitor from Point A to Point B.

• First, move your cursor to Point B and click in the area where you want to place the anchor.
• Type <a name="pointb"></a>.  The text in the quotes is the name of your anchor and will be what Point A links to. Give your anchor a descriptive name but make sure there are no spaces.  Anchor names can consist of only letters and numbers.
• Now move your cursor to Point A and place your cursor before the word(s) that users will click on to jump to Point B.
• Type <a href="pointb">
• Next, move your cursor to a position right after the word(s) that users will click.  Essentially, you are creating a link to the anchor.
• Type the closing tag </a>
• The finished HTML should look something like this <a href="#pointb">Point A</a>

Example

Articles Quick Jump Menu

Article One: Graphic Design Schools in New Hampshire
Article Two: How Much Printing Do I Need?
Article Three: New USPS Rules Impact Design Choices for Direct Mail
Article Four: Managing Your Company Logos

Article One: Graphic Design Schools in New Hampshire

For graphic design schools New Hampshire has many recognized, accredited institutions, where students can obtain the knowledge, skills and paper qualifications necessary to enter a wide range of graphic design-related industries. Here are some of our top recommendations:

McIntosh College (Dover, New Hampshire) - Turn your artistic ambition into a great career. McIntosh College of Dover, New Hampshire prepares students to succeed in a variety of exciting career fields. Whether you're looking to start a new career or advance in your current career, McIntosh College will give you the training you need to succeed. The Visual Communication program teaches Web and Graphic Design.

As well, there are an increasing number of online graphic design schools New Hampshire students can avail themselves to. Among them:

AIU Online (ONLINE) - Earn your degree online in record time, from American InterContinental University Online. No school makes it easier (or more rewarding) to earn a degree in Visual Communications than AIU Online. Jump-start your career in graphic design or web design today. The AIU online degree program is designed so you can study when it's most convenient for you.

The Art Institute Online (ONLINE) - Get the skills you need for a design career at The Art Institute Online. Whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned professional, you can kick-start your career with an associate's or bachelor's degree from The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Programs are available in Graphic Design, Digital Design, Multimedia & Web Design and Game Art & Design.

Article Two: How Much Printing Do I Need?

END OF EXAMPLE

To see what the code looks like for this example click on View>View Source in your browser's menu.

Finally, anchor tags can also be used to make a link from Point A on one page to Point B on another page.  To do this, just follow the steps above but make sure to place the anchor where you want it on the other page.  When linking to this anchor, you must add the URL for the linked page before the hash mark that designates the anchor.  Example:  <a href="anotherpage.html#pointb">Point A</a>