Is it ok to create anchors without href attributes?

Question

If you take this example, <a name="xxx"></a> ... is this ok when creating an anchor? I have always preferred to use an already created tag for my destinations.

Answer 1

If you are using this for in page navigation you can just just the id of the element rather than having to set up the anchor tag e.g.

<a href="#stuff">link to stuff</a>

<div id="stuff"></div>

I personally would not use an empty anchor tag.

Answer 2

For navigational purposes within one page, it's perfectly fine. Though that style of navigation is usually related to some kind of headings or titles, so usually most people end up surrounding the appropriate heading/title with the anchor. I guess it's better from a readability and maintenance point of view.