The rel attribute describes the relationship between a landing page and the page that links to it. It’s not displayed in the browser, but search engines and screen readers can collect it. It can be used for navigation and to provide descriptive tags for resources. It’s important to update websites accordingly as HTML standards change and to consider browser support when coding.
The rel attribute is an HTML attribute used to describe a landing page’s relationship to the page that links to it. The information is not displayed directly in the browser, but search engines and screen readers can both collect the rel attribute and collect information about the network of connections on a page. The reverse is the rev attribute, used to contextualize the current page in relation to what is being linked.
This attribute is written as rel=”property” and would appear in a link like this: wiseGEEK. The rel attribute detects that the linked resource is the home page, relative to the document from which the link originated, like this article by wiseGEEK. Similarly, an affiliate partnership site might use a code like this: Affiliate Friendly. When search engines crawl your site, they can understand the relationships between pages within a site, as well as external links.
Another common example of how this attribute can be used is in navigation, to avoid confusion and reversals. Other entries could be used on a blog to provide a link to another page of entries. People can also use descriptors like “precedent”, “stylesheet” and “index” to provide descriptive tags for resources. The rel attribute can also be tied to other code; for example, a style sheet can be coded to display a small arrow next to a link with a rel=”previous” for easier navigation.
Like many HTML attributes, the rel attribute is not applied consistently. Some sites may use it extensively, and it can be very useful for tools like creating sitemaps. Other sites don’t use it at all, and sometimes weird uses of the attribute happen and can confuse browsers. As HTML standards change, attributes come and go, and it’s important to ensure websites are updated accordingly to avoid issues such as display errors.
People curious about browser support for various attributes can look up the technical documentation on websites for those browsers. It’s important to be aware that even if the newest version of a browser recognizes and knows how to apply an attribute, older versions may not, and people concerned about reaching as many browsers as possible may want to consider this when coding of sites. Sometimes, you need to make changes to your site’s code for the benefit of people using older browsers in order to view them properly.
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