- Article
- 2 minutes read
- Reviewed August 4, 2026
Internal links connect one page on a website to another page on the same site.
They support navigation, URL discovery, contextual understanding and distribution of attention through the architecture.
Crawlable Links
Use standard anchor elements with an href destination.
If an interface behaves like navigation, implement it with a real link instead of depending only on JavaScript click handlers.
Descriptive Anchor Text
Anchor text should describe the destination naturally.
Prefer phrases such as:
- learn how WordPress canonicals work
- WordPress Media Settings
- plan a content model
Avoid repeated generic labels when the surrounding context does not identify the destination.
Navigation Layers
WordPress sites can use primary navigation, footer links, breadcrumbs, section indexes, previous and next links, related content and contextual body links.
Each layer serves a purpose. Adding every page to the main menu creates noise.
Hub and Spoke Architecture
A hub introduces a topic and links to detailed supporting pages.
Supporting pages link back to the hub and to relevant siblings. This structure works especially well for manuals, product collections and documentation.
Orphan Pages
An orphan page has no useful internal link from the website.
It may still appear in a sitemap, but it is disconnected from the visitor journey. Regularly crawl the site to identify important pages with no incoming internal links.
Updating Links
When a URL changes, update internal links to the final destination and retain a redirect for old external links.
Redirects are a fallback, not a substitute for maintained internal URLs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no universal number. Include links that help the reader continue or understand the topic.
Do navigation links count?
Yes, although contextual links communicate different relationships.
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