How to Create Anchor Links in WordPress Without Plugins

Anchor links, also called page jumps, let visitors skip to a specific section of a long page. WordPress supports them in the block editor without a plugin, shortcode, or custom JavaScript.

1. Add an anchor to a heading

Edit the WordPress post or page that contains the section you want to link to.
Select the Heading block for that section. Add one if needed.
Open the block settings sidebar using the Settings button if it is hidden, then expand Advanced.
Enter a short identifier, such as shipping-info, in the HTML Anchor field. Do not include the # symbol.
Save or update the page.

Use a unique identifier for each destination on the page. Lowercase words separated by hyphens are easy to read and remember. Avoid spaces.

2. Create a link to that heading

Highlight the text you want readers to click, such as Jump to shipping information.
Choose the link button in the block toolbar.
Enter #shipping-info as the destination and apply the link.
Save the page and test the link on the published page.

The # tells the browser to look for a matching anchor on the current page. The anchor name must match exactly, including capitalization.

Link to an anchor on another page

To send someone directly to a section of a different page, append the anchor to that page's URL. For example:

https://example.com/faq/#shipping-info

This works for links in other posts, navigation menus, or messages, as long as the destination page contains an element with that exact anchor.

Use HTML when you need more control

The built-in block setting is usually the easiest method. If you're editing HTML directly, an anchor is simply an element with an id, and the link points to that ID:

<h2 id="shipping-info">Shipping information</h2>
<a href="#shipping-info">Jump to shipping information</a>

Use a Custom HTML block if you need to insert raw HTML in the WordPress editor. Do not paste HTML tags into an ordinary paragraph expecting them to become markup.

When an anchor link does not work

Check the spelling: #shipping-info must match shipping-info, including its case.
Check for duplicates: Two elements with the same ID can make jumps unpredictable.
Check the page URL: For a link to another page, include the full destination path before the #.
Check the header: A sticky header can cover the destination heading even when the jump itself works. That is a theme-layout issue, not an anchor-link problem.

For the WordPress-specific editor controls and additional examples, see the official WordPress Page Jumps guide.