: Is link a broken link? When using empty URL fragment links, to send a user to the top of the page (e.g. <a href="#">return to top</a>), are these links considered broken or invalid?

@Welton855

Technically, "#" is a well-defined URL reference that points to the start of the current document, so it is not “broken” in formal sense. It can, however, be regarded as bad for accessibility, and it is also a common symptom of “fake” links, i.e. a elements that are supposed to link to something external but depend on JavaScript. (In the very old days, <a href="..." onclick="..."> was the only kind of element that supported the onclick attribute, so people wrote the “dummy” href="#" attribute, which isn’t really dummy.)

So you can regard this as an incorrect error message, or as a useful warning message that might be a little poorly formulated.

Vote Up Vote Down

@BetL925

I don't think it is considered as broken link.

Broken link is a link that points to resources doesn't exist (404 HTTP response).

Vote Up Vote Down