In some recent trips through the blogosphere, I have discovered that many bloggers have yet to figure out hyperlinks. If you’re one of them, read on!
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“How easy is this!?!”
I thought with delight when I began blogging almost four years ago. Fortunately or unfortunately, the more I blogged, the more I read up on blogging protocol. That’s when I discovered that while not difficult, blogging was deceptively simple.
There was all this nagging discussion about creating proper hyperlinks. It was nagging because real bloggers used proper hyperlinks and I wasn’t. In my early blogging days, I entered all my posts in visual (WordPress) or compose (Blogger) mode. Wasn’t that good enough? I hesitated to even think about HTML.
Happily, the cyber gods smiled on me. She-who-built-my-website dumped me in a fit of melodramatic ire. The story is both long and quite dull so I won’t share it with you but, from one day to the next, there was no one to add my weekly newsletter to my website. I was sunk … but not for long.
After pouting for a few months, enter Meghan. Just out of college, a technical wiz and teacher at heart, Meghan agreed to update to my site and then teach me how to do it myself. (Something I’d wanted all along but She-who-built-my-website did not believe in DIY.)
I am not a fan of any kind of programming. It is so exact. One < or ” out of place and boom, the whole thing falls apart. In spite of my almost allergic reaction to the meticulous placement of commands, I managed to get the hang of it. In a couple of hours Meghan declared me competent. I’d learned enough HTML to make my weekly updates.
It took a while but it finally dawned on me that if I could add a hyperlink to my website, I could add a hyperlink to my blog. It was simply a matter of cut and paste. You can too.
How do you create a hyperlink? There are two possibilities:
You can open a new window (definitely preferred) or replace the current page with a new one (not a great idea because your readers might not return to your post).
To open a new window:
Go to your blog editor.
If you’ve been fearfully wondering what that HTML tab is all about, it’s time to find out. Throw caution to the wind and click on the HTML tab.
Now simply type in the link as follows:
<a href=”http://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/friday-fun-why-did-you-start-blogging/” target=”_blank”>New Hampshire Writer’s Network’s latest Friday Fun!</a>
And voila …
New Hampshire Writer’s Network’s latest Friday Fun! will appear on your post! And when you click on New Hampshire Writer’s Network’s latest Friday Fun!, a new window will open with our latest Friday Fun post.
Now you could simply add http://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/friday-fun-why-did-you-start-blogging/ to your text … but isn’t that ugly? Especially in the middle of your expertly crafted essay?
If you want to send your readers to a new page and simultaneously close this one … then you type
<a href=”http://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/friday-fun-why-did-you-start-blogging/”>New Hampshire Writer’s Network’s latest Friday Fun!</a>
(But again, this type of link is not recommended.)
So again, here’s the simple template for you to cut and paste:
<a href=”paste the url here” target=”_blank”>paste the link text here</a>
Now that you know how to create a hyperlink – go at it. Just don’t go overboard. All links should make sense and add not detract to your story or distract the reader from your message.
Susan Nye is a corporate dropout, writer and chef. Feel free to visit her food or photo blog. © Susan Nye, 2012
