Absolute vs relative URLs in HTML - Hands-On Comparison

Understanding Absolute vs Relative URLs in HTML

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple webpage for a local bakery. You want to add links to the homepage and to an external website for online orders.

🎯 Goal: Build a basic HTML page with two links: one using a relative URL to the homepage and one using an absolute URL to an external site.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use a relative URL for the link to the homepage

Use an absolute URL for the link to the external online order site

Use semantic HTML5 structure

Include a descriptive title attribute for each link for accessibility

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Websites often link to pages within the same site using relative URLs and to other websites using absolute URLs. Understanding this helps keep links working correctly when moving files or deploying sites.

💼 Career

Web developers must know how to write correct URLs in HTML to build reliable navigation and connect to external resources, which is essential for creating professional websites.

1

Create the basic HTML structure

Write the basic HTML5 skeleton with lang="en" in the <html> tag, and include <head> with <meta charset="UTF-8"> and <title>Bakery Website</title>. Add an empty <body> section.

HTML

    
    Bakery Website


    

Hint

Remember to include the lang attribute in the <html> tag and the charset meta tag inside <head>.

2

Add a relative URL link to the homepage

Inside the <body>, add a link with the text Home that uses a relative URL index.html. Add a title attribute with the text Go to homepage.

HTML

    
    Bakery Website


    

Hint

Use the <a> tag with href="index.html" and add a title attribute.

3

Add an absolute URL link to the online order site

Below the homepage link, add another link with the text Order Online that uses the absolute URL https://www.bakeryorders.com. Add a title attribute with the text Order bakery items online.

HTML

    
    Bakery Website


    Home
    

Hint

Use the full URL starting with https:// in the href attribute.

4

Add a navigation section and improve accessibility

Wrap both links inside a <nav> element. Add an aria-label="Main navigation" attribute to the <nav> for screen readers.

HTML

    
    Bakery Website


    

Hint

Use the <nav> tag and add the aria-label attribute for accessibility.

Practice

1. Which of the following best describes an absolute URL?

easy

A. A link that starts with a slash, like /images/photo.jpg

B. A full web address including protocol and domain, like https://example.com/page

C. A link that points to a file in the same folder, like photo.jpg

D. A URL that only works on your local computer

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what an absolute URL is

   An absolute URL includes the full address: protocol (http/https), domain, and path.

2. Step 2: Compare options to definition

   A full web address including protocol and domain, like https://example.com/page shows a full address with protocol and domain, matching the absolute URL definition.

3. Final Answer:

   A full web address including protocol and domain, like https://example.com/page -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Absolute URL = full web address [OK]

Hint: Absolute URLs always start with http:// or https:// [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing relative URLs with absolute URLs
• Thinking a URL starting with / is absolute
• Believing file names alone are absolute URLs

2. Which of these is the correct way to write a relative URL to link to a file named style.css in the same folder?

easy

A. style.css

B. https://example.com/style.css

C. /style.css

D. ../style.css

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand relative URLs in the same folder

   A relative URL to a file in the same folder can be just the file name.

2. Step 2: Check options for correct relative URL

   style.css uses just style.css, which correctly points to the file in the same folder.

3. Final Answer:

   style.css -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Relative URL same folder = file name only [OK]

Hint: Use just the file name for same-folder relative URLs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using a leading slash which points to root folder
• Using full URLs when relative is needed
• Using ../ which points to parent folder

3. Given the current page URL is https://example.com/blog/post1.html, what will the browser load for the relative URL ../images/pic.jpg?

medium

A. https://example.com/images/pic.jpg

B. https://example.com/blog/images/pic.jpg

C. https://example.com/blog/post1.html/images/pic.jpg

D. https://images/pic.jpg

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of .. in relative URLs

   .. means go up one folder from the current page location.

2. Step 2: Apply to current URL

   Current URL folder is /blog/. Going up one folder leads to /. Then adding images/pic.jpg gives /images/pic.jpg.

3. Final Answer:

   https://example.com/images/pic.jpg -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   .. moves up one folder [OK]

Hint: .. means go up one folder in URL path [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking .. stays in the same folder
• Appending path without going up folder
• Confusing relative with absolute URLs

4. You wrote this HTML link: <a href="images/photo.jpg">Photo</a> on the page https://example.com/about/index.html, but the image does not load. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The URL should be absolute starting with https://

B. The relative URL is missing a leading slash to start from root

C. The file extension .jpg is incorrect

D. The relative URL points to a folder that does not exist relative to current page

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand relative URL resolution

   The relative URL images/photo.jpg looks for an images folder inside the current folder /about/.

2. Step 2: Check folder existence

   If the images folder is not inside /about/, the link will break. This is the likely cause.

3. Final Answer:

   The relative URL points to a folder that does not exist relative to current page -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Relative URLs depend on current folder [OK]

Hint: Check if relative folder exists where page is located [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming relative URLs start from root without slash
• Using absolute URLs unnecessarily
• Ignoring folder structure when linking

5. You want to link to the homepage from a page at https://example.com/products/item.html. Which URL should you use to ensure the link works correctly regardless of the current page location?

hard

A. /index.html

B. index.html

C. https://example.com/index.html

D. ../index.html

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand absolute vs relative URL behavior

   Relative URLs depend on current page location, so they may break if page moves.

2. Step 2: Choose URL that works anywhere

   An absolute URL with full domain always works regardless of page location.

3. Final Answer:

   https://example.com/index.html -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Absolute URL works anywhere [OK]

Hint: Use full URL to avoid relative path issues [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using relative URLs that break if page moves
• Assuming leading slash always works for all pages
• Not including protocol and domain for absolute URLs