Links - open in new tab or not
Links are essential to a functional web. It is how we discover new sites and help our readers find other interesting stuff. Especially on the IndieWeb which is the opposite of SEO, sites and blogs full of links is what makes it unique compared to the bigger platforms that wants us to stay on their site scrolling forever. However, a small detail with how we make links is not to be overlooked. Should our links open in a new tab or the existing one?
Using target=“_blank” in a link, or the [link](tab:http://www.example.com) here on Bear Blog, will open the page in new tab. At first glance, this may seem user-friendly — your readers can explore the linked content while still keeping your page open. As bloggers, it would be sad to lose a reader halfway through our post.
But it also takes away control from our readers. Maybe they are just following a link trail and don’t want to end up with a dozen new tabs cluttering up their browser. Every tab-based browser has a “open link in new tab”-feature for a reason, and most importantly - the back button still exists. Our readers may came back if they liked the first link they clicked.