Users expect new pages to open on the same window on which they were currently working. By making pages to open on separate windows, even those outside your website, you are going against their expectations.
- Don’t make pages to open on separate windows, except when they are PDF and similar documents.
- Think about your older and visually challenged audiences. They can’t manage many windows.
Web developers and designers are often afraid of opening the links on the same windows for the fear of losing the visitors. But that is a lost cause in any case. If people want to leave, they will. You can do nothing about it. And if they want to come back, they can always use the back button (back button is the single most used button on the web).
There are several usability problems that come from opening pages in different windows. The Usability guru, Jakob Nielsen, provides a detailed study of the associated problems in his book Prioritizing Web Usability.
March 5th, 2009 | Tags:
Ashish, this is interesting. I hate when pages open in my current window and have always configured my blog to open pages in a new window. However I work in Firefox tabs, so new window means new tab for me. I usually have about six tabs open at the same time. I’ll keep this in mind when I do the company blog. thanks.
Hi Clare. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. But remember, you are an advanced user with developed Web skills. Over 95% using the Web do not have those skills, and use it irregularly to solve some of their problems. Unlike you, they just spend very little time on the Web. So we, as Web masters, must try to make their life’s easier till they become accomplished users themselves.