After demonstrating that using target=_blank is not an absolute error, we will explore how to reduce new windows by scenario. I was consciously paying attention to this issue because I saw Uncle Plod's advice in 2004 that he advocated not to random pop-ups.
Putting aside some illogical intentions, why use pop-up pages in large quantities? Because designers are worried that users will lose their way. Why do users get lost? Because the navigation system is not good enough. Why is the navigation system not good enough? Because the product functions are too many and messy. Why are there too many functions and messy? Because the demand is not controlled well. Why are the demand not controlled properly? Because the person who asked for the request himself did not think clearly.
To put it bluntly, many occasions are not just a problem for designers, so they can only choose to constantly compromise and use inferior solutions to build a tofu structure system. It is normal for some things that cannot be avoided in the fast pace, but designers should do their duty to achieve iterative global coordinated reconstruction.
The above reference to the application scenarios of the links that meet the national conditions in the new window of Taobao summarized in 2008. Downloading various files and printing various documents requires help in comparison. The privacy terms of the registration form are necessary to target=_blank.
There are few scenarios where target=_blank will inevitably improve user experience, and I personally believe that with the development of client technology, it will be gradually replaced. For example, the ajax application of lightbox brings designers a new design concept that they don’t have to open new windows when viewing large images, which was unimaginable in the past.
The main domain name is replaced, such as friendly links, keyword external links embedded in the blog, etc., and links across application platforms usually have to be replaced with secondary domain names. If all windows are not opened, in order to avoid accidentally popping out, you should first remind the user that this is an external link; if some new windows are opened, there should be unified rules to restrict it, and clearly inform you to open new window. I have seen three types of cases:
msdn example, icon tells the user that this is an off-site link.
gblog example, icon tells the user that this is an off-site link, and you can click target=_blank.
egloos (Korea) example, icon only informs the user that this is an off-site link when triggered, or click target=_blank.
The neil turner article from sitepoint adds three forms, similar. It is worth mentioning that there is a case where title prompts open in new window, which actually conforms to the application mentioned in the use of title to improve accessibility.
For example, the layout changes are the difference between a list page and a content page. Users need to read the content page for a long time, and it is actually more inconvenient to return to the list every time. The most typical example is the improvement made by Google in early 2006, which is the default target=_blank link to the search result list. This example meets the above three conditions almost at the same time, and provides custom settings to change back, 100% insurance.
Special website maps and index tables are also navigation and should give users the greatest possibility of control. Whether it is global navigation, local navigation, auxiliary navigation, context navigation, or friendly navigation, it is recommended to eliminate target=_blank. For example, in the sidebar container of the wordpress program, almost all the links in the site are navigation, and target=_blank will seriously affect the smoothness of accessibility.
tab is a very common form of page content organization, but whether it is directly hidden, asynchronously loading, or navigation-like jumps, it is not recommended to target=_blank, because at this time the user expects changes in the module or loading a new page in the current window.
In addition, the navigation link and the return operation link partially overlap, such as breadcrumb navigation, and the hierarchical back point is actually the return operation. Performing a return operation on any page means that the current page is no longer needed, so a new window cannot be opened. This return includes clicking on the logo to return to the homepage, which is also one of the typical errors you can encounter.
The scenarios of forms are relatively broad, such as registration, login, and search, target=_blank should be eliminated. There are very important usability specifications for submitting data forms with large fields. Clicking back should retain data. Wordpress backend is excellent.
It can basically be summarized in a broad sense as a link that affects access and operation fluency, it is not recommended to target=_blank. In fact, no matter what rules are, as long as there is no clear logic to convey them to users, it will cause accidents. However, the design difficulty is that it is impossible to accurately determine whether this accident is within the acceptable range expected by the user.
Since it is difficult to judge whether the user expects to need target=_blank, it is relatively easy to reach a consensus on the two common error scenarios, so I personally think it is still easy to find ideas to solve the problem. I won’t repeat the simple examples, and I will add them if I have the opportunity.