Target _blank netiquette

Question

I'm not talking about the way and means of opening new windows or tabs, that's not the problem. (And I use a rel="external" attribute rather than target="_blank" these days anyway.)

I'm talking about the philosophy of this line of thinking:

Also the site map & Privacy Policy links at bottom of screen should open a new window rather than re-direct as again you cant get back to the page

Yea, thanks boss.

What does the team think? Personally I think it's a) a poor user experience and b) insults their intelligence, haven't people figured out their back buttons yet?

I'm interested to learn others' opinions.

Answer 1

My thought is that you shouldn't open a new window unless you've got a good reason (and you probably don't).

I think of it this way: if the window you're opening is for the same site and is a "full" copy of the same site (meaning they could continue on from there) then I wouldn't open a new window. If the user wants to, they can.

If the new window isn't a "full" window (eg help window, etc) then it is probably better off being a Javascript dialog box but if its not that then I guess that could be a new window.

Some sites also open links to other domains in a new window. I guess the main thing is consistency.

Answer 2

The quote seems to suggest that the back button does not work for your application. I have had to use some web sites/apps where the back and forward button were not usable and in such cases I think it is ok to open new windows/tabs. However, I also think that you should fix the underlying issue that causes the back/forward buttons to now work.