Opening Links in New Windows and Tabs Using target=_blank: What is Your Opinion?
I don’t like it when I click on a link and a new window or tab opens in my web browser.
This might be because I’m a bit of a control freak and I want to decide when new windows and tabs open rather than have code decide for me.
There is also another issue. I already have so many tabs open that one more just might be the one to crash the browser. ;-)
A link will open a new tab or window if target=_”blank” is added to the link code. For example,
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwbridge/" title="Flickr" target="_blank"> My photos </a>
and
My photos
On a PC can decide if I want to open a new tab by holding down the Ctrl key when I click on a link. On a MAC I believe it’s the command key. When I want to open a new link but also keep the current page open this is how I do it and I use it frequently. I don’t need whether a new tab opens or not decided for me.
Some people argue that if the link doesn’t open a new tab the visitor will be leaving the page and might not come back. Ok – maybe so. But I would prefer to lose that visitor rather than alienate the one’s who don’t want new windows spawning all over their screen. And if there really is some information on my site that that person wants, I’m sure he will find his way back.
So now I’m curious. How do you feel about this issue? Does it bother you when new windows open, do you want new windows to open, or are you completely indifferent? Did you know you could hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on a link to open a new tab?
photo credit: Pieter Musterd
Keep Reading:
Did you enjoy this article? I can assist you with your WordPress or Facebook project. Contact me and I will provide you with an estimate. You can also connect with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. If you are looking for Hosting, WordPress Theme, Newsletter or other recommendations, please view my detailed list.
August 19, 2009 at 7:58 am
I often open new pages in other windows, but I use the right button on the mouse to open a menu on the page that allows me, in Firefox, to open in either a new window or a new tab.
With links on my web pages and blog posts, my default is generally to have the link open in a new page. I’ve done this for years and have never received a comment or a complaint about it.
The only time new windows opening up bothers me is when they are “extras” — like pop-up or pop-under ads or the extra page that gets opened that generally is advertising. Another thing that bothers me are the fly-out ads that cover the page content until you figure out how to close them — if I can’t figure them out fairly quickly, I’m leaving that site.
.-= Mike Goad´s last blog ..A very long day, publication plans, etc., etc. =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:45 am
Hi Mike – The pop up and under ads are the worst. I lose interest in a site once that happens.
August 19, 2009 at 9:12 am
I’ve been thinking about polling my readers on this issue, but I may just stop back here if you get a good number of comments. I take it from your code snippet that there’s no way to make it a tab rather than a new window. That must be something the user sets in their browser. I faintly remember doing that, I think.
In my own surfing, I tend to prefer things to open in new tabs, because I don’t want to go off on a tangent and forget where I was, which I probably wasn’t finished with. If this doesn’t happen, sometimes I go back and make it happen, sometimes I don’t. New windows are more cumbersome than new tabs, but I never have more than three tabs open at once, so crashing isn’t an issue.
For my own blog, initially I followed the acvice of the professional bloggers, which was to make all links outside your blog open in a separate window so that your reader was still on your blog until they chose to leave. Now that I can recognize the difference between business advice and advice for personal bloggers, I want to do what’s best for my readers, if there’s a clear consensus.
.-= Dot´s last blog ..Comment on 10 Things Every Blogger Should Know by Josh Hanagarne =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:55 am
Hi Dot – Having a window or tab open is a browser setting – the code can only say that something will open ;-)
It does seem that a lot of advice says to have the links open in new windows so that the reader doesn’t leave your site – maybe that does work. Personally, I don’t care for it.
August 19, 2009 at 10:48 am
Spawning new windows irritates me to the point of irrationality. :D I’ve set my browser to open new windows in tabs, and I have a scroll-wheel mouse and have the habit of clicking the scroll wheel on links, which opens them in new tabs.
.-= Andrea_R´s last blog ..Another new release, and upcoming =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:56 am
Hi Andrea – Just like me ;-) Well, almost – I’ve never gotten in the habit of using the scroll wheel – sometimes I try but I’m a little too stuck in my ways.
August 19, 2009 at 11:46 am
I prefer that links open in a new tab or window so that the visitor to my website doesn’t lose my website in their quest for more information.
.-= Pat Alexander´s last blog ..LifeWork 2.0 – July 2009, Nashville, TN =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:57 am
Hi Pat – That seems to be the reason we are told to have the links open in new windows.
August 19, 2009 at 1:53 pm
It varies from page to page. When I want to access each and every link on the page, I would prefer that links open in a new page. When I am just moving from page to page without intending to get back to the old page, it gets very irritating to keep closing the old page.
Currently for links that point out, I use target=”_blank” (if I remember to do so), for internal links I don’t do that.
.-= Avani Mehta´s last blog ..I Am The Power =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:58 am
Hi Avani – It’s funny how you want it to happen sometimes and other time it irritates you – I think that’s why I like having the choice up to me and I can choose to open a new tab myself.
August 19, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I actually prefer to have a link open a new tab, and I include target=_”blank” in most of the links on my blog.
.-= Vered – Blogger for Hire´s last blog ..Back To School =-.
August 20, 2009 at 6:59 am
Hi Vered – A definite vote for new tabs :-)
August 19, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I used to open windows in a new window on my site because I wanted to keep people on my site even after they clicked something.
But, then once I was going through an old post on my site and clicked on a link which opened two windows and irritated me a little. I figured, if I don’t like this on my own site, why would others do!
So after that I switched over to links opening up on the same window.
.-= Manshu´s last blog ..A look at Sri Lanka =-.
August 20, 2009 at 7:00 am
Hi Manshu – lol – That’s funny that you were getting annoyed on your own site. It seems from the comments though that this doesn’t annoy most people.
August 19, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Love the question! I personally make my outgoing links new tabs/windows (depends on how the user has their browser set), but all my internal links open in same window.
Andrea beat me to the punch and giving Mike a tip on using the “middle click” with the scroll wheel to open any link in a new tab. Tabs have made my web life SOOO much easier.
.-= Rick Castellini´s last blog ..Computer Help Show Podcast – 08-19-09 =-.
August 20, 2009 at 7:01 am
Hi Rick – Tabs are great. I use a text editor called Notepad++ because it has tabs and it makes my work so much easier.
August 20, 2009 at 10:02 am
To “kick it up a notch” as Emeril says, use tabbed programs like Kim’s Notepad++, Firefox, Chrome, IE 7/8 AND dual monitors. I used to think dual monitors were a luxury, not I find it hard to work without them. Highly productive.
.-= Rick Castellini´s last blog ..16 Educational Web Sites to Bookmark Now! =-.
August 20, 2009 at 11:04 am
I’m addicted to my two monitors ;-) I’m not nearly as productive when I am out and about with my laptop.
August 20, 2009 at 9:56 am
This is debatable topic. which never ends.
I want my visitor to open in new window as they need to also read my post. I prefer this way.
It all depends on persons’s choice
.-= Nihar´s last blog ..How to Move Feeds from FeedDemon / Newsgator to Google Reader =-.
August 20, 2009 at 11:05 am
Hi Nihar – I guess it is one of those round and round topics. I just really like making my own choices rather than having them made for me.
August 20, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I am in the habit of just right clicking on all links and telling it to open in a new tab. It drives me bananas when I’m on a page, click on a link, and then have to backtrack to the page I was on.
~ Kristi
.-= Kikolani´s last blog ..WordPress Thesis Theme Customization Part Four A: Custom Coding =-.
August 21, 2009 at 10:02 am
Hi Kristi – That’s basically what I do if I don’t want to lose the page that I’m on except I use the control key. I’m trying to get better with keyboard commands.
August 21, 2009 at 2:12 pm
You’ll probably hate me with a vengeance, Kim ;-)
I use the “New Window” option purely from a “keep on site” point of view. Not everyone uses the right-click option, and once a reader leaves your site they may not come back.
I can see why you prefer same window, and yes, it’s personal preference – I just go with the other option. :)
.-= Danny Brown´s last blog ..Blogger Outreach 2.0 =-.
August 21, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Hi Danny – I love the new photo! And I could never hate you :-)
It seems that a lot of you do have external links open in a new window.
August 23, 2009 at 4:03 am
I agree with you Kim. Even i hate it when some window opens in a new tab or a window. And thats the opinion of many users i guess
.-= Madhur Kapoor´s last blog ..Close Running Application quickly with SuperF4 =-.
August 24, 2009 at 7:04 am
Hi Madhur – It seems that the commentators here are split down the middle. Some really don’t like it and others don’t care.
August 25, 2009 at 5:13 am
I actually prefer new windows opening up rather than have to go back to a particular article, which I find damn annoying. As for the trick for opening a new page, that’s something I didn’t know, and I reckon most users wouldn’t know, and I will probably forget it tomorrow.
I have until recently used the code in my links to open a new tab, but until recently, I’m trialling not using this feature because of a post on Extremejohn’s blog.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..WassupBlog’s Ultimate Blogging Contest =-.
August 25, 2009 at 8:30 am
Hi Sire – I’m not very good at remembering keyboard commands either but this one has stuck with me. Of course, I use it to open new tabs and then end up having way too many open.
August 25, 2009 at 9:23 am
I see your dilemma, so you prefer to lay blame on yourself for your computer freezing rather than blame the poor blogger who coded a link that opened a new page that froze your computer? ;)
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Does An Employer Have The Right To Drug Test Prospective Employees =-.
September 12, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Hey Kim, I almost always open in the same window when Im sending to some form of affiliate offer. If Im sending to a site that isnt an affiliate offer or my sales funnel – I always use a “_blank”. Seems to work well for me – the main thing I focus on is getting people moving through my sales funnel…
.-= Ale @ Vampire Halloween Costumes´s last blog ..Scary Vampire Costumes =-.
September 13, 2009 at 8:33 am
Hi Ale – It sounds like you’ve figured out the best system for you and which type of window to use in different situations.
Thanks for commenting.