In web design, what does the href tag allow developers to do?

The href attribute is a fundamental component of anchor tags (also known as <a> tags) in HTML, which allows developers to create hyperlinks that link to other web pages or resources. When a user clicks on this hyperlink, the web browser will navigate to the specified URL defined within the href attribute. This function is essential for web navigation, as it connects different parts of a website or leads to external websites, making information widely accessible to users.

The other choices do not align with the purpose of the href attribute. For instance, embedding images involves the use of the <img> tag, and text-based icons are typically created with different HTML elements or CSS styles rather than through hyperlinks. Similarly, changing fonts and colors primarily involves CSS styles applied to HTML elements rather than through the href attribute.