Apply active class to specific href value
http://jsfiddle.net/3p3wkcos/7/
<ul>
<li><a href="/home/">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="/news/">News</a></li>
<li><a href="/contact/">Contact</a></li>
<li><a href="/about/">About</a></li>
</ul>
<style>
ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
overflow: hidden;
}
li {
float: left;
}
a {
display: block;
width: 60px;
background-color: #dddddd;
}
.active a
{
color:red;
}
</style>
<script>
var activeHREF= '/news/';
$("a[href='" +activeHREF+ "']").parent().addClass("active")
</script>