UIS Life | University of Illinois Springfield

Prairie Perspectives Blog | University of Illinois Springfield

Cost & Aid | University of Illinois Springfield

About Advancement | University of Illinois Springfield

Campus Recreation | University of Illinois Springfield

Colleges | University of Illinois Springfield

Home | University of Illinois Springfield

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs | University of Illinois Springfield

Alumni & Giving | University of Illinois Springfield

Admission & Aid | University of Illinois Springfield

Do not link to an anchor on the page that does not exist. For example:
linking to `#content` without a valid destination such as `<body id="content"></body>`.

A common web design pattern is to use a named anchor to show an element via JavaScript, e.g.

```html
<a href="#foo" onclick="$('.bar').toggle();">Click me</a>
<div class="bar">
    This is some content.
</div>
``` 

In these cases, the anchor (`#foo`) should point to the `id` of the hidden element:

```html
<a href="#foo" onclick="$('#foo').toggle();">Click me</a>
<div id="foo">
    This is some content.
</div>
```

This way the semantic intent of the link is preserved, even without JavaScript. 
Note that doing so may require modification to your script, to prevent automatic 
scrolling to the named anchor.

linking-to-anchor-on-page-that-does-not-exist

June 2025

May 2025

University of Illinois Springfield

	Title / URL	Issues
	UIS Life \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/uis-life	1
	Prairie Perspectives Blog \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/blog	1
	Cost & Aid \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/cost-aid	1
	About Advancement \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/advancement/about	1
	Campus Recreation \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/campusrec	1
	Colleges \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/colleges	1
	Home \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/	1
	Office of Research and Sponsored Programs \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/research	1
	Alumni & Giving \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/alumni-giving	1
	Admission & Aid \| University of Illinois Springfieldwww.uis.edu/admission-aid	1

Avoid linking to anchors that do not exist

University of Illinois Springfield

Where this issue has occurred