Privacy | University | The University of Southern Mississippi

A to Z Index | The University of Southern Mississippi

Graduate Programs | The University of Southern Mississippi

Admissions | The University of Southern Mississippi

Research | University | The University of Southern Mississippi

Apply To Southern Miss | Admissions | The University of Southern Mississippi

Student Life | University | The University of Southern Mississippi

Contact Us | University | The University of Southern Mississippi

Arts | The University of Southern Mississippi

University Police Department | The University of Southern Mississippi

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

January 2026

December 2025

University of Southern Mississippi

Title / URL	Issues
Privacy \| University \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/university/privacy.php	2
A to Z Index \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/a-to-z-index.php	2
Graduate Programs \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/graduate-programs/	2
Admissions \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/admissions/index.php	2
Research \| University \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/university/research.php	2
Apply To Southern Miss \| Admissions \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/admissions/apply.php	2
Student Life \| University \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/university/student-life.php	2
Contact Us \| University \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/university/contact-us.php	2
Arts \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/arts/	2
University Police Department \| The University of Southern Mississippiwww.usm.edu/police/	2

Avoid linking to anchors that do not exist

University of Southern Mississippi

Where this issue has occurred