<a>

The <a> SVG element creates a hyperlink to other web pages, files, locations in the same page, email addresses, or any other URL. It is very similar to HTML’s <a> element.

SVG's <a> element is a container, which means you can create a link around text (like in HTML) but also around any shape.

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <!-- A link around a shape -->
  <a href="/docs/Web/SVG/Element/circle">
    <circle cx="50" cy="40" r="35"/>
  </a>

  <!-- A link around a text -->
  <a href="/docs/Web/SVG/Element/text">
    <text x="50" y="90" text-anchor="middle">
      &lt;circle&gt;
    </text>
  </a>
</svg>
/* As SVG does not provide a default visual style for links,
   it's considered best practice to add some */

@namespace svg url(http://www.w3.org/2000/svg);
/* Necessary to select only SVG <a> elements, and not also HTML’s.
   See warning below */

svg|a:link, svg|a:visited {
  cursor: pointer;
}

svg|a text,
text svg|a {
  fill: blue; /* Even for text, SVG uses fill over color */
  text-decoration: underline;
}

svg|a:hover, svg|a:active {
  outline: dotted 1px blue;
}

Since this element shares its tag name with HTML's <a> element, selecting a with CSS or querySelector may apply to the wrong kind of element. Try the @namespace rule to distinguish the two.

Attributes

download
Instructs browsers to download a URL instead of navigating to it, so the user will be prompted to save it as a local file.
Value type: <string> ; Default value: none; Animatable: no
href
The URL or URL fragment the hyperlink points to.
Value type: <URL> ; Default value: none; Animatable: yes
hreflang
The human language of the URL or URL fragment that the hyperlink points to.
Value type: <string> ; Default value: none; Animatable: yes
ping
A space-separated list of URLs to which, when the hyperlink is followed, POST requests with the body PING will be sent by the browser (in the background). Typically used for tracking. For a more widely-supported feature addressing the same use cases, see Navigator.sendBeacon().
Value type: <list-of-URLs> ; Default value: none; Animatable: no
referrerpolicy
Which referrer to send when fetching the URL.
Value type: no-referrer|no-referrer-when-downgrade|same-origin|origin|strict-origin|origin-when-cross-origin|strict-origin-when-cross-origin|unsafe-url ; Default value: none; Animatable: no
rel
The relationship of the target object to the link object.
Value type: <list-of-Link-Types> ; Default value: none; Animatable: yes
target
Where to display the linked URL.
Value type: _self|_parent|_top|_blank|<name> ; Default value: _self; Animatable: yes
type
A MIME type for the linked URL.
Value type: <string> ; Default value: none; Animatable: yes
xlink:href Deprecated since SVG 2
The URL or URL fragment that the hyperlink points to. May be required for backwards compatibility for older browsers.
Value type: <URL> ; Default value: none; Animatable: yes

Global attributes

Core Attributes
Most notably: id, lang, tabindex
Styling Attributes
class, style
Conditional Processing Attributes
Most notably: requiredExtensions, systemLanguage
Event Attributes
Global event attributes, Document element event attributes, Graphical event attributes
Presentation Attributes
Most notably: clip-path, clip-rule, color, color-interpolation, color-rendering, cursor, display, fill, fill-opacity, fill-rule, filter, mask, opacity, pointer-events, shape-rendering, stroke, stroke-dasharray, stroke-dashoffset, stroke-linecap, stroke-linejoin, stroke-miterlimit, stroke-opacity, stroke-width, transform, vector-effect, visibility
XLink Attributes
Most notably: xlink:title
ARIA Attributes
aria-activedescendant, aria-atomic, aria-autocomplete, aria-busy, aria-checked, aria-colcount, aria-colindex, aria-colspan, aria-controls, aria-current, aria-describedby, aria-details, aria-disabled, aria-dropeffect, aria-errormessage, aria-expanded, aria-flowto, aria-grabbed, aria-haspopup, aria-hidden, aria-invalid, aria-keyshortcuts, aria-label, aria-labelledby, aria-level, aria-live, aria-modal, aria-multiline, aria-multiselectable, aria-orientation, aria-owns, aria-placeholder, aria-posinset, aria-pressed, aria-readonly, aria-relevant, aria-required, aria-roledescription, aria-rowcount, aria-rowindex, aria-rowspan, aria-selected, aria-setsize, aria-sort, aria-valuemax, aria-valuemin, aria-valuenow, aria-valuetext, role

Usage notes

CategoriesContainer element
Permitted contentAny number of the following elements, in any order:
Animation elements
Descriptive elements
Shape elements
Structural elements
Gradient elements
<a>, <altGlyphDef>, <clipPath>, <color-profile>, <cursor>, <filter>, <font>, <font-face>, <foreignObject>, <image>, <marker>, <mask>, <pattern>, <script>, <style>, <switch>, <text>, <view>

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2
The definition of '<a>' in that specification.
Candidate Recommendation Replaced xlink:href attribute by href
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition)
The definition of '<a>' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
aChrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 1.5IE Full support 9Opera Full support 9Safari Full support 3.1WebView Android Full support 3Chrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support 3.1Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
downloadChrome ? Edge ? Firefox Full support YesIE ? Opera ? Safari ? WebView Android ? Chrome Android ? Firefox Android Full support YesOpera Android ? Safari iOS ? Samsung Internet Android ?
hrefChrome Full support YesEdge Full support 12Firefox Full support 51IE Full support YesOpera Full support YesSafari Full support 12.1WebView Android Full support YesChrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support 51Opera Android ? Safari iOS Full support 12.2Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
hreflangChrome No support NoEdge No support ≤18 — 79Firefox Full support 61IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 61Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
pingChrome No support NoEdge No support ≤18 — 79Firefox Full support 61IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 61Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
referrerPolicyChrome Full support 51Edge Full support 79Firefox Full support 52IE No support NoOpera Full support 38Safari Full support 11.1WebView Android Full support 51Chrome Android Full support 51Firefox Android Full support 52Opera Android Full support 41Safari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android Full support 7.2
relChrome No support NoEdge No support ≤18 — 79Firefox Full support 61IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 61Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
targetChrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 1.5IE Full support 9Opera Full support 9Safari Full support 3.1WebView Android Full support 3Chrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support 3.1Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
typeChrome No support NoEdge No support ≤18 — 79Firefox Full support 61IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 61Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
xlink:actuate
Deprecated
Chrome ? Edge ? Firefox ? IE ? Opera ? Safari ? WebView Android ? Chrome Android ? Firefox Android ? Opera Android ? Safari iOS ? Samsung Internet Android ?
xlink:href
Deprecated
Chrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 1.5IE Full support 9Opera Full support 9Safari Full support 3.1WebView Android Full support 3Chrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support 3.1Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
xlink:show
Deprecated
Chrome ? Edge ? Firefox ? IE ? Opera ? Safari ? WebView Android ? Chrome Android ? Firefox Android ? Opera Android ? Safari iOS ? Samsung Internet Android ?
xlink:title
Deprecated
Chrome ? Edge ? Firefox ? IE ? Opera ? Safari ? WebView Android ? Chrome Android ? Firefox Android ? Opera Android ? Safari iOS ? Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
Compatibility unknown
Compatibility unknown
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.