A webpage is not always broken because of a large mistake. Small details can produce exactly this problem: debugging: fragment link does not scroll. This guide shows you what to look for, a concrete fix, and how to check that it worked.
The Idea in Plain English
A hash fragment must match an existing id in the destination document. It will not scroll if the spelling or capitalization is wrong.
You can test this using a small local HTML file. Change one part at a time and check the result in the browser before adding more code.
A Working Example
The first part shows a problem. The second part shows a safer or more accurate version. Compare them before reading the explanation.
<!-- Problem -->
<a href="#summary">Summary</a>
<h2 id="results">Summary</h2>
<!-- Corrected example -->
<a href="#summary">Summary</a>
<h2 id="summary">Summary</h2>What Each Part Does
- The anchor is a link when its href points to a destination.
- The h2 identifies a major subsection.
- href is the URL or fragment destination of a link.
- id names an element for labels, fragments, CSS or JavaScript; IDs should be unique.
Before the fix, the browser can behave incorrectly or report a warning. After the change, test the exact failure rather than assuming the page is fixed.
Try It Yourself
Click the link and verify that the URL fragment corresponds to the target element.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Check the underlying cause before changing unrelated tags.
- Changing several parts of the example at once, making it difficult to see which part caused a different result.
- Choosing a tag only because its default appearance looks right, without checking whether it describes the content correctly.
Key Takeaways
- A hash fragment must match an existing id in the destination document. It will not scroll if the spelling or capitalization is wrong.
- Before the fix, the browser can behave incorrectly or report a warning. After the change, test the exact failure rather than assuming the page is fixed.
- Test the markup in a browser, and check accessibility and real-world behavior where relevant.