yii helper html link
<?php
use yii\helpers\Html;
Html::a('Profile', ['user/view', 'id' => $id], ['class' => 'profile-link'];
?>
<?= Html::a('Profile', ['user/view', 'id' => $id], ['class' => 'profile-link']) ?>
<?= Html::a('Profile', ['user/view', 'id' => $id], ['class' => 'btn btn-primary']) ?>