Connecting the Web - Links, Images, Media and the Power of Attributes in HTML

Source: Dev.to

HTML starts feeling real the moment a page stops being an isolated island. Links let you jump. Images add context and personality. Media turns a static document into something that moves and speaks. This is the point where the web stops being a pile of text and becomes an ecosystem.

And underneath all of it sits a quiet but essential idea: attributes. They’re little name–value pairs added to tags that change how an element behaves—like settings on a camera, adjusted for a different moment.

Links: The Web’s Original Superpower

Hyperlinks are the reason the “Web” is a web at all. The anchor tag wraps a bit of text or an element and says, “Go there.”

[Visit Google](https://google.com)

The href attribute tells the browser where to go. Adding another attribute like target="_blank" makes the link open in a new tab. Same tag, different behaviour—attributes at work.

Images: More Than Decoration

An image is just a file living somewhere, and HTML pulls it in.

![A cat with a sword.](https://tinyurl.com/cat-with-sword)

Key attributes

• src – points to the image file.
• alt – describes the image for people who can’t see it and for machines that need context.

Images are the first place you realize that HTML leans heavily on meaning. The browser can’t tell what your picture represents unless you say so, which is why alt matters.

Media: Letting the Page Move and Speak

HTML can play audio and video without plugins.

Attributes define the experience

• controls – shows play/pause buttons.
• Optional attributes such as autoplay, loop, or muted shape how the video behaves.

The element is simple; the attributes decide the personality.

Attributes: The Hidden Operating Manual of HTML

By this point, a pattern emerges. Most HTML tags introduce a concept—“this is a link,” “this is an image,” “this is a video.” But it’s the attributes that customize the details.

Think of attributes as the configuration layer of the language: name="value". Tiny switches that unlock big behaviour.

The Real Takeaway

• Links tie documents together.
• Images enrich them.
• Media energizes them.
• Attributes quietly shape all of them.

This chapter shows how HTML stops being abstract and starts behaving like the living web you interact with every day. It’s just the beginning—enough understanding to navigate, and enough curiosity to explore deeper.