HTML File Paths

HTML file paths describe where files are located within a website’s folder structure. They are used to link pages, images, stylesheets, and scripts using either absolute or relative paths.

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HTML File Paths

A file path describes the location of a file in a website’s folder structure.

File paths are used to link to resources such as web pages, images, stylesheets, and JavaScript files.

File Path Examples

Path Description
picture.jpg The file is located in the same folder as the current page
images/picture.jpg The file is located in the images folder inside the current folder
/images/picture.jpg The file is located in the images folder at the root of the website
../picture.jpg The file is located one folder level above the current folder

Absolute File Paths

An absolute file path is the full URL to a file.

Absolute paths always include the protocol and domain name.

<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/images/picture.jpg" alt="Mountain">

Relative File Paths

A relative file path points to a file based on the location of the current page.

Relative paths are commonly used for files within the same website.

Relative Path Examples

Image located in the root images folder:

<img src="/images/picture.jpg" alt="Mountain">

Image located in an images folder inside the current folder:

<img src="images/picture.jpg" alt="Mountain">

Image located in an images folder one level above:

<img src="../images/picture.jpg" alt="Mountain">

Chapter Summary

  • File paths describe where files are located in a website
  • Absolute paths use full URLs
  • Relative paths are based on the current file location
  • File paths are used for images, pages, CSS, and JavaScript files

HTML File Paths Examples (4)