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Hello,
I, and I'm sure others, think it would be more beneficial to have the default hyperlink option in blogs to be having them open in a new window. As of now, the default is to have the links open in the same window and therefore prompts visitors to leave the blog. There is the option to select a radial box and have them open in a new window, but you need to remember to click it everytime, or risk losing the visitor. Having the links open in a new tab or a new window by would allow them to remain in the blog and therefore a better chance of clicking the CTA.
Thanks,
Ben
Hi everyone,
Thanks for sharing your feedback here!
It's generally a sub-optimal user experience to force a link to open in a new tab/window, which this proposed feature would do. If your site visitor wants to open a link in a new tab or window, they'll know how to do that - in fact, so many web users do this that it has its own term in the world of UX: "page parking". If it makes sense for a link to always open in a new tab or window, you can do that (and ideally indicate that this will happen, for example by using the icon that looks like a square with an arrow pointing up and to the right, as described in this article), but this shouldn't be used for all links.
In response to the assumption that forcing a link to open in a new tab or window keeps a user on your site, here's a quote from the Nielsen Norman Group, leaders in the world of user experience:
"Designers open new browser windows on the theory that it keeps users on their site. But even disregarding the user-hostile message implied in taking over the user's machine, the strategy is self-defeating since it disables the Back button which is the normal way users return to previous sites. Users often don't notice that a new window has opened, especially if they are using a small monitor where the windows are maximized to fill the screen. So a user who tries to return to the origin will be confused by a grayed-out Back button." - Nielsen Norman Group
That quote is from an article written in 1999, and I assure you that it is still relevant today! Your users know how to use tabs. Let them be in control of their own experience on the web. The fact is that if your visitor wants to leave your site, they will. That's okay! Use content marketing to keep providing them with value and they'll be back.
It's also against web accessibility guidelines to open links in new windows/tabs unless necessary (guideline 3.2, Predictability).
There are exceptions to the general rule of not auto-opening external links, but they remain exceptions. That's why we're not going to build this functionality into the HubSpot tools, and I encourage you to think carefully before implementing this across your site.
- Snaedis
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