informednetworker.com dmackey on 03 Jul 2008 09:30 pm
Open in a New Window Icon…
I’ve been on the internet for a long time…long enough to remember when, “Don’t open links in a new window” became a cardinal rule and a mortal sin of website design. That said, I was somewhat surprised when users began complaining when the links on Informed Networker took them outside of the site. They had to use the back button to get back, yada yada. Well, it makes sense. Informed Networker readers generally aren’t here just to read one story - they are here to read dozens of stories. They don’t want to have to navigate backwards using the built-in browser button, they just want to open a new window that demonstrates the outside link and when they are done reading close it up and be back at Informed Networker.
I knew that going primarily to a new window architecture would be bad for business, especially since we attempt to attract IT Professionals and many hold the “no new windows” rule as dear as I do. So what was the alternative? Thankfully Mark James had created a beautiful little two window icon in his free Silk Icon set that clearly communicates the idea of a new window/tab opening. We tossed this into the mix, poured a little alt text on top to get our tooltip text and broke all the rules by still utilizing target=”_blank” (yes, yes, we could have used javascript…no we aren’t going to) - and now there is satisfaction for all. If you want click on the text link to see the link opened in the same window, but if you are a power user who doesn’t like using keyboard or mouse shortcuts to open a link in a new window/tab - just click on the little two window icon and away you go.
What do ya think? We know its just another little change…and trust us, our developers are working on more major changes as well…but we want to make sure that while we work on the big stuff we also take time to refine the interface and functionality in the little ways that make your lives easier.
Thanks to Jon Hui and Andrew Vogel for their friendly complaints in this manner that spurred this development.