[javascript] Setting href attribute at runtime

What is the best way to set the href attribute of the <a> tag at run time using jQuery?

Also, how do you get the value of the href attribute of the <a> tag using jQuery?

Small performance test comparision for three solutions:

1. $(".link").prop('href',"https://example.com")
2. $(".link").attr('href',"https://example.com")
3. document.querySelector(".link").href="https://example.com";

Here you can perform test by yourself https://jsperf.com/a-href-js-change

We can read href values in following ways

1. let href = $(selector).prop('href');
2. let href = $(selector).attr('href');
3. let href = document.querySelector(".link").href;

Here you can perform test by yourself https://jsperf.com/a-href-js-read

In jQuery 1.6+ it's better to use:

$(selector).prop('href',"http://www...") to set the value, and

$(selector).prop('href') to get the value

In short, .prop gets and sets values on the DOM object, and .attr gets and sets values in the HTML. This makes .prop a little faster and possibly more reliable in some contexts.

Set the href attribute with

$(selector).attr('href', 'url_goes_here');

and read it using

$(selector).attr('href');

Where "selector" is any valid jQuery selector for your <a> element (".myClass" or "#myId" to name the most simple ones).

Hope this helps !

<style>
a:hover {
    cursor:pointer;
}
</style>

<script type="text/javascript" src="lib/jquery.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function() {
    $(".link").click(function(){
        var href = $(this).attr("href").split("#");
        $(".results").text(href[1]);
    })
})
</script>



<a class="link" href="#one">one</a><br />
<a class="link" href="#two">two</a><br />
<a class="link" href="#three">three</a><br />
<a class="link" href="#four">four</a><br />
<a class="link" href="#five">five</a>


<br /><br />
<div class="results"></div>