Why should I add hyperlinks to a page?

Hyperlinks are valuable tools for directing visitors around your site. There are three basic types of link; internal, external and anchor links.

• Internal links connect to other pages within your website.
• External links connect to other websites, such as sites owned by your affiliates or associates.
• Anchor links help visitors move from one section of your web page to another section of the same page. The most common anchor links are ‘Back to Top’ links.

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Linking to an internal content page

An internal link transports a visitor from one page of your website to another page of your website.  It is very important to use internal links throughout your site to make sure that your visitors see as much of your website content as possible.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor highlight the word that you want visitors to click on to open the link.
4. Click the Insert/Edit Link button in the tool bar.
5. Click the drop-down box marked Link List.
6. This will display a list of all of the pages on your website. Click on the required page name.
7. Click the Insert button.  The link text will change colour to show that it has become a link.  The link will not function within the content editor, you will need to publish the site to test it out.
8. Save the page and publish the website.

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Linking to an external website or page

An external link transports users from a page on your website to a different website altogether. 

The simplest type of external link is a web address that is typed directly into the content editor (i.e., www.hotmail.com).

Link addresses can also be hidden behind images or words in your content i.e., (Hotmail).  The benefits of creating links like this are that your page content looks nice, and visitors need to keep returning to your site to access the link that you have provided. This can improve the amount of visits for your website. The following instructions show you how to create links in this format.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor highlight the word that you want visitors to click on to open the link.
4. Click on the Insert/Edit Link icon.
5. In the Link URL field, type the full web address of the site you want to link to, starting with 'http://www' (i.e., http:www.hotmail.com).
   
6. From the Target drop-down box, select the option Open in new window (_blank). This will make the external site appear in a separate browser window. When a visitor closes the linked site, your website will still be open in the background.
7. Click on the Insert button.
8. Save the page and publish the website.

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Linking to a file

Using the content editor, you can enable visitors to your website to download word documents, excel spreadsheets, pdfs, audio and video files.  The user will be able to save the downloaded document to their computer.

Linking to files is useful when there is a lot of content that users may wish to print out or when the content doesn’t need to be displayed on a web page for on-screen reading.  Some examples of this might be product specifications, price lists or reports.

The default upload limit for files is 200kb and all files that you intend visitors to download should be as small as possible (pdfs are a good idea).  The Site Builder will enable you to upload and link to almost any file type.  To view the file, the visitor must have the appropriate software on their own computer.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor of a page place your cursor where you would like the link to appear.
4. Click on the Link to a File button in the toolbar. A dialogue box listing all of the documents stored in your File Manager is displayed.
5. Click on the desired file.  If it hasn’t been uploaded to the website yet, you can upload the file via the Browse button.
6. Enter a Caption for the file. This should be a short name such as 'Download the product specifications' or 'Download the 2009 Annual Report'.
   
7. From the drop-down box marked Window, select Open file in a new window.
8. Tick Include file type icon and Include file size. These options insert a file type icon to the left of the caption and the file size to the right of the caption.  This creates user friendly content by giving visitors a visual idea of what the link will do.  It also warns them of the download size and saves visitors from being disgruntled if the file is large.
   
9. Click the Insert button.    The link will not work in the editor, you need to publish the site to check it.
10. Save the page and publish the website.

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Creating a link to store category (eCommerce packages only)

To gain the maximum effect from a website, eCommerce websites should provide links directly from content pages to the online store.  The Site Builder makes it very easy for you to link directly to specific categories to save visitors from having to navigate there themselves.  The links will be most effective on the home page or as part of a news item.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor highlight the word that you want visitors to click on to open the link.
4. Click on the Insert/Edit Link icon.
5. Click on the drop-down box marked Categories. This will display a list of all of the categories in My Shop.
6. Click on the required Category name.
7. Click on the Insert button at the bottom of the page.
8. Save the page and publish the website.

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Creating a link to a My Shop product (eCommerce packages only)

The Site Builder makes it very easy for you to link users directly from content pages to products in My Shop.  The most effective placement of these types of links is on the home page or as part of news items.  Use them to promote specific products and to propel the visitor to the checkout in the least number of clicks.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor highlight the word that you want visitors to click on to open the link.
4. Click on the Insert/Edit Link icon.
5. Click on the drop-down box marked Products. This will display a list of all of the products in your shop.
6. Click on the required Product name.
7. Click on the Insert button at the bottom of the page.

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Creating anchor links

Anchor links (also called bookmarks) are a special kind of link that allow the visitor to jump from one part of a page to a specific point at another part of the page. They are used to make browsing the content of a page easier for a visitor and they are best used on a long page that has a lot of content on it.

The example of an anchor link used for these instructions is a “Back to Top” link.  This kind of anchor link enables visitors to go from a paragraph of information appearing down the page to table of contents links at the top of the page.

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor, place your cursor at the destination, that is, the area of the page you want your visitors to be taken to when they click on the link (i.e., at the very top of the page).
4. Click on the Insert Anchor Link icon.This will open the Insert/Edit anchor dialogue box.
   
5. Enter in a one-word name for this anchor. It must be a unique anchor name on this page i.e. “top”.
6. Click on Insert. The anchor is inserted and indicated by a small anchor icon that appears in the content editor.
7. Now that you have the destination, you need to add the launch. This is the word or image that your visitors will click on (i.e. "Back to Top"). Highlight the word or image and click on the Insert/Edit Link icon. The Insert/Edit Link box will appear.
8. Click on the drop-down box called Anchors. This will display a list of all of the anchor points on this page. Select the anchor name and click the Insert button.
9. Save the page and publish the website.

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Inserting JavaScript pop-up links (advanced users only)

In the content editor, the Pop Up function of the links tab enables you to create new windows that appear in front of your website window at a specified size. For example you could use a pop-up window to show a visitor a large version of an image without affecting the download time of the main web page. When visitors click on the link, the large version of the image appears in a window that is the same size as the image. This function can create a neat and professional effect.

To create a JavaScript link

1. Go to Pages > Add/Edit Pages.
2. Click on the page where you would like a link to appear.
3. In the content editor, highlight the text or image that you want visitors to click on (this is called ‘link text’).
4. Click on the Insert/Edit Link icon.
5. Select the Pop-up tab. Place a tick in the JavaScript popup box.
6. In the Pop-up URL field, enter the web address of the object (image/website) you wish to link to. If you are linking to an image in your Image Manager, you simply need to type: “/images/name_of_image.jpg”.
7. Enter a Window name. The Window name will appear in the blue bar at the top of the pop-up window. Do not enter any spaces.
8. Enter the Size dimensions of the pop-up window in pixels. If you are using the JavaScript pop-up link to open an image, set the size to slightly larger dimensions than the image.
9. Set the Position for where the pop-up will appear in the screen.  Setting this at ‘c /c’ will make the new window appear in the centre of the screen.
10. Options: Using the tick boxes, you can set options for the parameters of the pop-up window:
    • Show Location Bar: Tick this box to display the URL of the link in an address bar at the top of the pop-up window.
    • Show Scroll Bars: If the image/link destination is larger that the size specified in Step 8, scroll bars will appear to enable the visitor scroll around the pop-up window.
    • Show Menu Bar: Tick this box to display the standard ‘File, Edit, View’ toolbars at the top of the pop-up window.
    • Make Window Resizable: Tick this box to enable visitors to resize the pop-up window on their screen.
    • Show Toolbars: Tick this box to display the standard ‘Back, Forward, Refresh’ browser buttons at the top of the pop-up window.
    • Dependant (Mozilla, Firefox only): Tick this box to chain the pop-up window to the parent window (the page that contains the link to the pop-up window).  If the parent window is closed or unloaded, the child window will also close.  This can prevent the visitor from having a lot of pop-up windows left open on their desktop.  The resulting script will only work in Mozilla Firefox
    • Show Status Bar: Tick this box to display the status bar at the bottom of the pop-up window.
    • Insert ‘return false’: You must retain the tick in this box to enable the JavaScript pop-up.
11. Once you have selected all of your options, click the Update button to add the link to your page. Remember that links only become active on the published site.
12. Save the page and publish the website.

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Why doesn't my link to an external website work?

When creating a link to an external website you must remember that you need the complete URL (website address) of the website or web page that you are linking to. The "complete URL" means that the URL must contain "http://www." before the domain name of the website.  For example:

    http://www.hotmail.com

If you type "www.hotmail.com"  into the URL field, the Internet browser does not realise that it needs to look for a website.  You need to add the code "http://"  so that an Internet browser recognises the URL as a website address it needs to find.

The easiest way to create a link is to copy the URL of the website that will be linked to from the URL bar of another Internet Browser.  Then paste the URL into the Link URL field of the Insert/Edit Link box.