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Definition: hypertext


A linkage between related information. Hypertext is the major feature of the Web, enabling users to click a link to switch to another part of the page, another page on the same site or to a website anywhere in the world. Links can be text or images, and any graphic on a Web page can embed a link.

Hypertext is the umbrella term for all links; "hypergraphics" is the technical term for image links. "Hypertext," "hyperlink" and "link" are synonymous. See hypermedia, live link and virtual hypertext.

Coined in the 1960s
The hypertext concept was coined by Ted Nelson in 1963, but his vision was more expansive than just one-way links. Nelson proposed two-way linking and support for non-hierarchical organization.

Three Decades Later
In 1991, the Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau at the CERN European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland. Although it never technically embodied Nelson's vision, the Web became a crown jewel on the Internet. See World Wide Web.