How to Use Echo for an Anchor in PHP

Understanding how to use HTML tags, such as the "anchor" (<a>) tag, within PHP code is an important skill to learn when you want to combine the two languages to create a Web page. The anchor tag can create a link to another URL with the "href" attribute or set a bookmark with the "name" attribute. You can use the "echo" command to display code on your Web page in PHP.

Instructions

1. Open the PHP file in a text editor such as Windows Notepad.

2. Add an anchor tag with an "href" attribute to create a hyperlink in the HTML body of your file, by typing the code:

   echo "<a href='http://www.myserver.com'>Click this link</a>";

   or:

   echo "<a href=\"http://www.myserver.com\">Click this link</a>";

   or:

   echo '<a href="http://www.myserver.com">Click this link</a>';

   The "href" attribute sets a destination URL to be opened when the user clicks on the hyperlink. A common mistake is to write it as:

   echo "<a href="http://www.myserver.com">Click this link</a>";

   This doesn't work because there are quotes (") inside of quotes. Escape the quotes with a backslash (\") or use a mixture of apostrophes (') and quotes.

3. Add an anchor tag with a "name" attribute by typing the code:

   echo '<a name="myspot"></a>';

   This acts as a bookmark that other hyperlinks can reference.

4. Create a hyperlink to an anchor by adding the code:

   echo '<a href=#myspot">Click to goto myspot</a>';

   or:

   echo '<a href="mypage.html#myspot">Click here</a>';

   When the user clicks the hyperlink, the Web page will scroll down automatically to the location of the anchor bookmark.

5. Save the PHP file and load it on your Web server to view the anchor tags.

References

• PHP: Echo
• W3Schools: HTML <a> Tag
• Boogie Jack: HTML Anchor Tag Tutorial