You must login or register!
Inbound.org uses Twitter to register and create accounts. Your Twitter handle will also be your username here on Inbound and registration/login will enable you to submit content, post comments and create/edit your Inbound profile. Use the button below to verify your Twitter account.
Login or Register
That's a good article. I agree that we've been conditioned by the pre-browser tab days to make external links open in the same tab. It is time for a change.
I agree with the idea that external links should open in a new tab but many internal links should as well. If I link to another post within the context of another I want that to open in a new tab. I don't want to interrupt the flow of reading the current post. It's additional reading material supporting that post. Of course Previous and Next and other navigation links should open in the same tab but contextual internal links should open in a new tab in my view. But maybe I'm in the minority on this one.
I agree with you, but how does Google look at a _blank type link in terms of passing relevance and authority? Maybe Microsoft, Google and Mozilla could establish a global way of recognizing a "new tab" command as opposed to re-launching the browser.
From our testing and my understanding, _blank or _parent (and the rest) do not have an impact on how link graph metrics are passed in any of the engines.
Interesting thoughts in this article. I've trained myself to right-click open in new tab on any link I want to read. This allows me to continue reading or choose to select the new tab with the selected information. I could be missing the obvious way to accomplish this with an external link. I think it comes down to the reason for linking. Do you want the person to leave your site? If not, why link? maybe it's for proof. In that case, you still might only want the person to leave at the end of the article. Footnote instead?
I use the middle button to open new tabs when I want and don't get annoyed if it happens anyhow, but then I'm an advanced user. I have some beginner friends and they don't even realise tabs exist. I guess _blank has no negative impact on them as they don't even realise it's happening! What annoys me is when I can't open in a new tab because the link is JavaScript. So I have to duplicate then click!
Totally agree, but now that I think of it, I have been using the scroll wheel when there is a link to a page I want to read after the current one. Therefore, I don't really know the scale of the problem this article describes. By the way, I see that inbound.org is now opening links in new tabs, was that because of this article?
Nope, we had a few requests from users to have it open in a new tab so we just added the target="_blank" so that happens.
Yes, thank you! While I almost always use middle mouse (scroll) to open external links I know the annoyance of a link not opening the way I want it to-- like @Tiggerito mentioned. This is also why I'm a big fan of the "external icon" (as seen on Wikipedia) and use it almost all of my projects. PS: This should be an option in Chrome "always open external links in new tab".
I will add the external link icon then to my site. I always like the look of those links. I guess it feels more trustworthy somehow.
I agree that tabbed browsers are now popular and common. However, in my experience, many users have no clue how to manage tabs. I still think we're a while away from everyone accepting tabbed browsers as standard. Mobile also impacts this decision. Unless you have a mobile specific site the "open in a new tab" experience may be less than ideal. I'm thinking about the iPhone experience where a new tab is really a new window and is slow. Lastly, I can right-click and choose Open in New Tab but there is no right-click "Open in This Tab" option on browsers at the moment. I always have the option as a power browser to open in a new tab but would have no choice if you use a target="_blank" attribute.
I see this debate a lot on Ux blogs. Personally I think it follows the "don't make me think" rule. Open in a new tab and I will look over and see how it supports your point. I know some people though who automatically open all links in new tabs anyway. I am one of those types. It is just an automatic reflex now. Great Point @marcus about the mobile experience
Depends on the use-case. On a site like Inbound.org (and on our Interest results page at Intigi) we open links in a new window because we know that this is the common behaviour for people reading a list of articles. But in general I would recommend letting the user make that decision whether or not they want it opened in a new tab with a right-click or command-click.
Although most of the sites open external links in new tab. The ones that don't often are quite irritaiting for user experience.