---
title: "expect · Link relation · zhead"
canonical_url: "https://zhead.dev/link/expect"
last_updated: "2026-08-10T16:29:02.392Z"
meta:
  description: "Points to an element in the current document. With blocking=\"render\", it can hold rendering until that element is connected and fully parsed."
  "og:description": "Points to an element in the current document. With blocking=\"render\", it can hold rendering until that element is connected and fully parsed."
  "og:title": "expect · Link relation · zhead"
---

Link

# expect

Points to an element in the current document. With blocking="render", it can hold rendering until that element is connected and fully parsed.

## Code examples

Good example

```
<link rel="expect" href="#hero" blocking="render">
```

Blocks rendering while the parser reaches and finishes the element with id="hero".

Avoid this example

```
<link rel="expect" href="/next-page#hero" blocking="render">
```

Targets another document, so it cannot block on an element in the current page.

## Recommendations

- 01 Target this document Use a fragment URL for an element in the current page. A URL for another document does not create a working render block.
- 02 Add blocking explicitly Rel="expect" identifies the element. The link blocks rendering only when blocking includes the render token and the other processing conditions are met.
- 03 Keep the blocked region small Rendering waits until the target is fully parsed. A late target can delay the whole first render, so use this only when partial rendering would be visibly broken.

## Related documentation

- [HTML Living Standard: Links](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/links.html#link-type-expect)