Validates that rendered anchor tags define an href attribute.

This check inspects rendered <a> elements and flags anchors without href. Use a <button> for actions that do not navigate.

Examples

Bad:

<a>Settings</a>

Why this is bad:

An anchor without href is not durable navigation. It is less predictable for keyboard users, assistive technology, browser affordances, and link behavior such as opening in a new tab or copying the target URL.

Better:

<a href="/settings">Settings</a>

Why this is better:

The element exposes a real destination, so it behaves like a browser link.

Bad:

<a phx-click="save">Save</a>

Why this is bad:

A click-only anchor is acting as an event control, not navigation.

Better:

<button type="button" phx-click="save">Save</button>

Why this is better:

A button communicates that the element performs an action.

Notes

The check only verifies that an href attribute is present. It allows href="" and href="#"; use Bylaw.HTML.Check.PreferButtonForAction to flag rendered action links that combine phx-click with placeholder hrefs.

This check runs on rendered HTML, so dynamic attributes are evaluated after rendering. It does not report the source component or template that produced an anchor.

Options

This check has no check-specific options. Add the module directly to the explicit checks list:

Bylaw.HTML.Check.RequireLinkHref

Usage

Add this module to the explicit check list passed through Bylaw.HTML. See Bylaw.HTML for the full rendered HTML validation setup.