browser links

kkrafts58

 Good morning, My name is Karen and I am new to StartUpNation. I have been working on redoing my website and I have a question. Which do most of you prefer when you click on a link, A new browser window, or do you prefer the link to open in the same browser window? Let me know, as I hope to have my website done by next week. I`m trying to make it as user friendly as possible and easy for customers to find what they want. Thank you. All suggestions will be appreciated.

Pokerman

I don`t like to lose the parent site.  Open in a new window is my preference.

TwilightPics

Hey Keren!All internal links (home, about, contact, etc.) need to stay in the same browser window.All external links (linking to another websites) should open a new window.This general rule will please most of your visitors. Once your site is done submit it to the Business Site Showdown, we would love to give you a detailed review:http://www.twilightpics.com/showdownGood luck,Jrock
TwilightPics2007-2-2 12:40:45

zman

Hi Karen -
Welcome aboard from a fellow Southern Californian.
I also prefer that links open in a new window. But there`s an even more important reason to set up your links this way. In an e-commerce business such as yours, you don`t want to send potential customers away from your site - you want them to be back at your site when they close the link.
michael

ujeans

Unless I`m leaving the site or going to an area that is
significantly different, I want to stay within the same browser.  If I
want a new window, I can always open up one on my own.  

iouone2

I always open interesting links in new windows. I never know if the web programmer coded it that way or not. So instead of getting kicked from the site I was originally at, just to follow a link, I will open a new window for the link.It`s as easy as Apple  Key (alt) + Click.

InactiveMember

It probably doesn`t matter. Under Windows, you can hold down SHIFT and click any link to open it in a new Window. According to W3, who more or less designed the web, opening new windows is bad design because it means that people cannot use the back button and it ruins the document flow that is part of the web. But W3 says a lot of things and people don`t always listen. Hope this helps.

HPS

I like to inform my users that a link they are clicking will send them to a new site. I include a little icon next to the link. You can see an example on my Monmouth County community page. Take a look at the link to  the Associated Humane Societies listing.Regards,Howard
HPS2007-2-2 16:57:3

337design

Definitely keep it in the same window if it`s within the site... Try to avoid too many links that  take the visitor away from your site, unless of course it`s a portal/information site.