Components

Back link

Use the back link component to help users go back to the previous page in a multi-page transaction.

Although browsers have a back button, some sites break when you use it - so many users avoid it, instead of losing their progress in a service. Also, not all users are aware of the back button.

HTML
Nunjucks

HTML

<a href="#" class="govuk-back-link">Back</a>

Nunjucks

Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work; these are marked as "Required" in the option description.

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Primary options
Name	Type	Description
text	string	Text to use within the back link component. If `html` is provided, the `text` argument will be ignored. Defaults to 'Back'.
html	string	HTML to use within the back link component. If `html` is provided, the `text` argument will be ignored. Defaults to 'Back'.
href	string	Required. The value of the link's `href` attribute.
classes	string	Classes to add to the anchor tag.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the anchor tag.

{% from "govuk/components/back-link/macro.njk" import govukBackLink %}

{{ govukBackLink({
  text: "Back",
  href: "#"
}) }}

When to use this component

Always include the back link component on GOV.UK question pages.

You can include a back link on other pages within a multi-page transaction, if it makes sense to do so.

When not to use this component

Never use the back link component together with breadcrumbs. If necessary, you should do research with your users to learn which they find more helpful in your service.

How it works

Always place back links at the top of a page, before the <main> element. Placing them here means that the ‘Skip to main content’ link allows the user to skip all navigation links, including the back link.

Make sure the link takes users to the previous page they were on, in the state they last saw it. Where possible, ensure it works even when JavaScript is not available.

If this is not possible, you should hide the back link when JavaScript is not available.

There are 2 ways to use the back link component. You can use HTML or, if you are using Nunjucks or the GOV.UK Prototype Kit, you can use the Nunjucks macro.

HTML
Nunjucks