We enjoy compliments, but you can totally shout at us for doing it wrong on our Twitter account 👋 When you use target='_blank', always make sure to add rel='noopener' or rel='noreferrer'. Besides the accessibility issue it also poses a security issue. If you do need to open links in a new window then warn users beforehand. Think long and hard before opening links in a new window. Read more about this at Google Web Fundamentals Conclusion This exposes an attack surface because the other page can potentially redirect your page to a malicious URL. The other page can access the window object with the window.opener property.

Using the attribute target='_blank' you are leaving your visitors open to possible phishing attacks. Linking to cross-origin destinationsīesides the impact on accessibility, there is also a possible security issue to keep in mind. It is recommended that when links are opened in a new window, there is advance warning. In this case opening external links in an external window allows the user to access such references while keeping their login active in the original window. The user is logged into a secured area of a site, and following a link to a page outside of the secured area would terminate the user’s logon. Opening a page containing context-sensitive information, such as help instructions, or an alternate means of completing a form, such as a calendar-based date picker, will significantly disrupt a multi-step workflow, such as filling in and submitting a form, if the page is opened in the same window or tab. Let me quote the WCAG on these situations: However, there are some situations where it is actually preferable to open a new window or tab. This principle is also documented as a guideline in the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Therefore, we like to let the visitors decide whether or not they want to open a link in a new tab. Knowing this, we can conclude that taking away any control from the visitor can have a negative impact on the user experience. And if users follow a link to another website and want to return to your website, they will invariably do so by clicking Back, since that’s the most popular way to revisit pages”. “If people really want to leave, they will. Opening a new tab on mobile phone can be even more disorienting, as it’s especially difficult for the user to go back to the website they were originally browsing.īut wouldn’t that lead to visitors leaving the website? Jakob Nielsen discusses this in the book Prioritizing Web Usability. So in short: it breaks the navigational flow for visitors who visit the website using assistive technologies. They might not realise that a new tab or window has opened and might experience difficulty switching between windows. Generally speaking, it is better not to: it can be disorienting for people, especially for novice web users or people who have difficulty perceiving visual content. Well, “why wouldn’t you want to open links in new tabs?”, you might ask. From a website owner's perspective this sounds like an undesirable scenario.īelow I'll get into the reasons why we try to avoid this pattern as much as possible. Oftentimes it's assumed that when outbound links open in the same window, the visitor will leave and disappear from your website. An often heard request, to which we usually reply with an unexpected answer: 'We'd rather not'.

'Could you please let this link open in a new tab?'. By Michèle van den Aardweg February 18, 2019

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