How to Put a # Symbol in a URL

by Mike Venture

The pound symbol, also called the hash sign and number sign, is often found in URLs. It is not simply a regular character, however; it has a special function. When you see a pound symbol in a URL, that means you’ve followed a link pointing to a HTML anchor, which is used to link to a certain section of an HTML page. Anchors are created with the “name” attribute. Adding anchors to a business’ website is a good way to enhance usability and improve navigation.

1. Open the HTML document that is pointed to by the URL in a text or HTML editor.

2. Determine where you would like to place an anchor. Existing section headers are a good choice.

3. Enclose the text to be anchored in anchor tags, like this: <a name="heading1">Heading 1</a> In this case, the anchor is identified by “heading1.”

4. Use the “name” with the pound sign in URL to link directly to this point in the document. For example, to link to this point within the document, use: <a href="#heading1">Heading 1</a> To link from an HTML document, use: <a href="[URL]#heading1">Heading 1</a> Where [URL] represents the full URL of the HTML document.

Things Needed

  • Text or HTML editor

About the Author


Photo Credits

  • Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
Suggest an Article Correction