Clickable links, also known as hyperlinks, are highlighted words on websites that take the user to associated information when clicked. They are written in HTML code and can lead to different pages or trigger email clients. Clickable graphics serve a functional purpose, such as stopping or starting videos, while clickable links are for navigation. However, there can be exceptions to this rule.
On websites, a clickable link is one or more highlighted words which, when clicked on with a computer mouse, take the surfer to information associated with those words. A clickable link is also called a hyperlink and is usually embedded in web pages to make browsing easier and cleaner.
Web pages are written in a code known as HyperText Markup Language (HTML). While the code itself is plain text, web browsers interpret textual code into the attractive graphical pages we see as we browse the web. HTML makes it possible to embed the underlying commands into web pages without the surfer knowing the coded commands or even see them. Instead, HTML creates a point-and-click environment to take the navigator from place to place with nothing more than a click of the mouse.
In web pages, a clickable link is often used for one of four basic actions: it can take a surfer to another place within the same web page as an index might do; can take a surfer to another page within the same website; or it can take the surfer to a new website. Finally, when a hyperlink is associated with sending mail, it will trigger the browser’s email client to open and automatically route a new message to the destination in the clickable link. In this case the hyperlink could read, Contact Support, Email, Comment or Webmaster, to name a few examples.
While clickable links are used for navigation, clickable graphics often serve a function. For example, a video interface has buttons to stop, start, and pause the video. This interface consists of clickable graphics associated with commands.
Merchant sites feature a lot of clickable graphics because they are more attractive than textual hyperlinks. At online retailers, customers can click on product images to view more information, click light-up buttons to add items to a virtual shopping cart, and clickable graphics are also used to confirm sales transactions. Gaming and VR communities incorporate clickable graphics to do everything from creating avatars to firing weapons.
While the clickable link is oriented towards navigation and the clickable graphics towards functionality, this is not a hard and fast rule. A clickable image can be used to send a surfer to a new page or site, and a clickable link can be linked to a function, such as “watch this video”. In most cases, however, the links indicate where a surfer can go and the graphics what a surfer can do.
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