Links do more than move people between pages. The HTML rel attribute describes the relationship between your page and another resource. The value author means: identifies information about the document author.
What author means
Identifies information about the document author.
Write it as rel="author" on an appropriate <a> or <link> element. Not every relationship is defined for both: the correct element depends on the link type.
Example markup
<!-- Relationship: author -->
<a rel="author" href="author.html">About the author</a>What the browser does
This example uses <a>, which displays a regular link. The visible link text tells readers where it leads; the rel value adds information for browsers, search engines or other software.
Rel indicates relationship; it does not prove authorship.
This relationship value does not automatically restyle the link, change its accessible name or make a new page secure. Navigation and user-facing labels still need deliberate HTML.
When to choose this token
Use author only when the relationship is genuinely true for that destination. If it describes a web resource, make sure that resource exists and serves the right content. For an external URL, do not confuse a relationship hint with permission, security or a redirect.
Small practice task
Create a simple test page with the example. Inspect the resulting element in Developer Tools. Change the target to another sensible file or URL, then explain whether the visible page, a network request, or only the relationship metadata changed.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Rel indicates relationship; it does not prove authorship.
- Assuming
rel="author"has the same effect on every kind of HTML link. - Adding a relationship token when the destination does not have that relationship.
Key Takeaways
authormeans identifies information about the document author.- Rel indicates relationship; it does not prove authorship.
- Choose a valid link element and test what the browser actually does.