“Opening up new browser windows is like a vacuum cleaner sales person who starts a visit by emptying an ash tray on the customer’s carpet.” So says Jakob Nielsen describing his #2 pick for the Top 10 Web Design Mistakes for 1999.

I’ve never experienced the vacuum cleaner sales person. But, six years after that Neilsen gem, I still experience plenty new browser windows. I think the biggest reason web masters and designers use that crusty old device, the target=”_blank” attribute, is fear of sending someone away never to return. A valid concern, but one countered with better content or acknowledging this visitor is better served elsewhere.

Web design best practice

One client sites, I usually use a graphic symbol [ ] to indicate that a link will take a visitor away from a site. On my personal sites, I just consider it a given.

The perfect time for a new browser window

Although the W3C says that HTML Strict and XHTML Strict don’t validate with the use of the target attribute, I think there are times when it’s justified:

• Fixed height & width Javascript links that popup a browser with useful and short help information.
• PDF files (marked as such) due to their large file size
• Image files that are extremely large

At these times, I will once again use an image [ ] to indicate what will happen.

Bottom line, in my opinion, is to give the visitor the freedom to choose. If they want back to my site, they can just click the back button and there I’ll be.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 24th, 2006 at 6:12 pm and is filed under Web Development, 30 Days of Web Standards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.