Those magnificent links
Internet links, or hyperlinks to give them their
full name, seem perhaps a strange topic here, but their importance for net
designers, authors, and users cannot be underestimated. They are the basis of surfing the web, and search engines and
other major websites such as Wikipedia
all use hyperlinks
extensively, and they are used extensively on Goldhanger
Past website.
Computer programmers who
gained their experience in the days before the arrival of the internet, when
their applications were isolated inside the bounds of one processor, will
doubtless remember their forerunners, the Jump and Go-To instructions. Then, as
now, there were pros & cons to their use and were much maligned as the
source of excessive complexity and errors. Hyperlinks have some similarities,
but have many benefits. . .
o
They empower the reader to choose their own path through a website.
o
They provide relevant and recommended routes to other parts of the net.
o
Links can be shown in forms: a word, a phase, an image, a button, an
icon, or be part of a list or menu.
o
The displayed text does not have to reflect the destination address.
o
The destination, or target,
can take many forms such as a picture, video, audio, music, etc.
o
They are effortless for the user with point & click or select.
o
They save web designers and authors time and
effort by removing duplication, and avoid plagiarism.
o
The link can be opened in a new tab or window by the author or user,
leaving the original page still visible.
o
Links can be copied into emails, social media
messages and be in most on-line documents types.
o
The back-button on the browser returns the user through the chain of
previous links and pages.
However there are some disadvantages. . .
o
A user can opt for a link to new site, becomes absorbed in it, and not
return to the original site.
o
Users can be confused by a multiplicity links, and not recognise a link
for what it is.
o
Links can be deliberately disguised to mislead for commercial gain and
to hide viruses.
o
Links not updated after the destination site has been restructured,
resulting in not found messages.
Experience has shown that it is large public
organisations and councils that regularly re-structure their websites
resulting in these not found messages. The only solution has
been to copy some of the salient text onto this site.
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