Navigating the Web with Links

How do you get from place to place on the web? By clicking links. Links are interactive areas on a web page you can click to open a new page or document or initiate another online action. Links can be words, images, or areas called hotspots. Websites menus are links that open other pages or cause an action, such as a download, when clicked or tapped. Every result in a Google search is a clickable link that opens a new web page. The Next Lesson button at the bottom of this page is a link, as are the play and pause buttons on a YouTube video. 

Links are usually obvious. Web page developers want you to see them easily. Text links are often a different color than the surrounding text, and some are underlined. Image links are usually evident in their context, as in an ad. Links are programmed to change in color or form when you hover over them (use the mouse to place your pointer over the link). They may change color or size or move in some way to let you know they are something you can click.

Viewing a link

You can preview a link’s destination address by hovering over it and looking at the bottom left area of your browser window. You should see a small area with an https address. Now that you know how to read URLs, previewing an address can help you decide if you want to visit a site by checking the preview. I’m hovering over the Paddle Boards link in the image below, where you can see the link destination URL displayed at the bottom left corner.

Website menus

Websites have menus at the top and bottom of the page and sometimes on either side. Developers spend a lot of time developing intuitive menus for any user to find their way around a website easily. Menus at the top of the page usually link to the main areas of a website. Menus at the bottom of a web page are often administrative-type links to privacy policies and contact forms. There are no set rules for where menus must be and what they must contain, but best practices are to try and be consistent rather than confusing. Menus should be consistent, at least within a website!

Surfing the web

Surfing the web is about following links to wherever your interest lies or the next clue in your exploration lives. As I often do, you might start trying to be productive but cannot resist looking at the fantastic new expresso machine or the boat reviews. Surfing is all about enjoying the web, so go surf!