1. Basic Link Syntax

The basic format for a Markdown link is:

[Link Text](URL "Optional Title")

• The text inside square brackets [] is the clickable part.
• The text inside parentheses () is the link target, which can be a URL or file path.
• The text in double quotes is optional; it appears as a tooltip when you hover over the link.

Example:

[Visit Official Site](https://www.getprettymd.com/ "PrettyMd")

Rendered Result:
Visit Official Site

2. Relative vs. Absolute Paths

Markdown supports both relative paths and absolute paths:

Type	Example	Use Case
Relative Path	[View Docs](/blog)	Suitable for navigation within the same repository
Absolute Path	[Visit Website](https://www.getprettymd.com/)	Suitable for external websites or fixed resources

Recommendation:
Use relative paths in project documentation to prevent broken links after repository migration.

3. Linking to Headings (Anchor Links)

Markdown allows you to jump to a specific section of a document using anchors.

Syntax:

[Jump to Section](#section-heading)

Anchors are automatically generated from headings using these rules:

• Convert all characters to lowercase;
• Replace spaces with -;
• Remove punctuation marks.

Example:

[Jump to Summary Section](#summary)

Clicking it will take you to the “Summary” section at the end of this article.

4. Automatic Links

You can directly type a URL or wrap it in angle brackets < > to make it clickable:

<https://www.getprettymd.com/>

Rendered Result:
https://www.getprettymd.com/

Tip:
Some renderers (like GitHub) automatically convert bare URLs into clickable links, but it’s safer to wrap them in < > for compatibility.

5. Reference Links

Reference-style links make your Markdown cleaner, especially when reusing the same URLs multiple times.

Syntax:

[Link Text][id]

[id]: URL "Optional Title"

Example:

For more information, see the [Official Markdown Guide][md-doc].

[md-doc]: https://www.markdownguide.org "Markdown Guide"

Rendered Result:
For more information, see the Official Markdown Guide.

Advantages:

• Centralized management of link information;
• Cleaner, more readable content;
• Ideal for long documents and collaborative writing.