New Inline Link Feature, I do not like!

Most of my links I want a separate tab to open with the new link.

Using target=”_blank” (which is used to open in a new window/tab) is often an anti-pattern and there are very few valid use cases for it. It takes away control from the reader, breaks the back button, and is “like a vacuum cleaner sales person who starts a visit by emptying an ash tray on the customer’s carpet” –source.

Here is some reading on the subject:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/should-links-open-in-new-windows/

https://libux.co/links-should-open-in-the-same-window/

https://css-tricks.com/use-target_blank/

No articles you post on what is “correct” is going to change my mind about how I want my site to function. The original dialog allowed me to link using a new tab or not within the same dialog. Nice and simple

The new dialog doesn’t speed up workflow. When creating a link that stays on the same tab the number of clicks and actions is exactly the same. However for anyone who wants to open a new tab or link to a recent article the new dialog creates additional actions.

Maybe the old dialog wasn’t very sexy looking, but the new dialog is less efficient and less practical.

If you want to use something else, feel free to do so. I find the new dialog to be much faster to use. But then, I don’t use target=blank and never have.

Realistically, the code is going to be geared for a default which makes sense for all people. It does not make sense to have links opening new windows by default. That’s an edge case. If you want that sort of thing, then selecting it for every single link you make is kind of insane. Use a plugin or something to make that your own personal default instead.

I never said that I want links opening new windows by default. Please don’t imply I did.

I liked the option to have a link open in a new TAB without having any additional clicks. You know, just how it worked for years. Were there a large number of complaints that the checkbox was getting in the way?

Maybe I’m not getting it, but how is the new dialog faster? Im serious, am I missing something?

Would it be so hard to have that little check box included in the new dialog?

just how it worked for years

That would be before it was realised just what a severe problem this causes for many visitors. As in – leaving them stranded in the new page with no way back because the back button functionality (that they rely heavily upon) was broken.

Would it be so hard to have that little check box included in the new dialog?

It facilitated inaccessible link creation and led to the creation of sites that contravened the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Additionally, and depending upon your legal jurisdiction, it could also place site owners on the wrong side of the law. Hopefully, it’s now been consigned to the 9th circle of hell – never to return.

Though don’t fret, if there’s a demand for this functionality then someone is going to develop a plugin for it – what usually happens.

Maybe there will be a plugin one day.

Though I’m not sure about the argument that a person is left stranded because of no back button. They can back up to the point that the tab opened. Then close that tab, and voila. They are now at the page where they clicked the original link. Unless they went and closed the original tab already. But thats what the History is for.

Anyway. Everyone does things different.

Cheers.

Though I’m not sure about the argument that a person is left stranded because of no back button

I can only assume you’ve never used a “switch” to navigate a site. Not everyone can use a mouse…

Suggestion: Try navigating your own site using only the Tab and Enter keys. You’ll very quickly learn just how difficult it can be for some people to navigate around the Web when they don’t have access to a mouse. Or a touchscreen. Or a touchpad. This is not a matter of simple inconvenience. For some people, it’s the difference between being able to use web resources and being completely locked out of them.

I’ve navigated sites using Lynx. Granted that was in the early 90’s.

Ok, I’ve done some reading and I can see how opening a new tab can mess up people with disabilities.

The thing is some links in the body of my article are for affiliate sites. I want the reader to be able to go buy things, but I also want to keep my site open. for when they are done buying and want to finish my article.

If I open the affiliate site in the same tab as my site and the person ends up clicking through many pages on the affiliate site then its a pain in the ass for them to get back to where they were reading on my site if they wish to continue with my post.

What is the best solution for this?

You can use JavaScript to target those links and try to open them in a new tab – but I thought some browsers try their best to ignore this behaviour.

If you want to try that, open a thread in the Troubleshooting forum and someone will try to get back to you when they have time.

Andrew. I already have my affiliate links set to use the new tab checkbox in the wordpress link editor. thats not the problem. The problem is the latest update made it slightly harder to get to that checkbox. And now I have been told I should never use it.

How do I allow potential customers to click on link that takes them to an affiliate, while still allowing them to easily return to the blog post that sent them to the affiliate? If it’s a simple purchase then yes the back button works great. But if they browse the affiliate for a while then the back button becomes more burdensome.

So for all the people saying to not allow external links to open in a new tab, what is a solution to this?

Thanks

So for all the people saying to not allow external links to open in a new tab, what is a solution to this?

The solution to this is to not consider it to be a problem, but to let users solve their own problems. If somebody wants to open a link in a new tab/window (same thing, really), then they can hold CTRL while they click it, or use the middle-mouse button, or some other way. All browsers support the functionality of opening links in new areas, but the point is that the user should choose that, not the website.

Also, most browsers have a toggle somewhere to disallow new-tab links to work. I turned off that functionality years and years ago. Your open-in-new-tab trick doesn’t work in my browser, because I prefer to control where my links open, thanks.

Web navigation is the browser’s problem, not the website’s.

That’s a pretty brazen and disappointing comment from Samuel.

Myself, like the original poster, have an issue with the way WP is making us insert links into our posts. For the way we use our sites, it makes the workflow 3x longer for what should be a very simple task – which is ironic, since the inline editor is meant to make adding links easier.

It’s all well and good to have a conversation about how disabled readers navigate the web, and how we can cater to their needs, but that discussion isn’t relevant in this conversation. Save it for a discussion on navigation best-practices, etc.

The only thing more concerning than WP being more cumbersome to use for some publishers, is the fact that your response is basically that we should just deal with it, or use some other CMS.

It’s not really down to Samuel to tell you to deal with it, or use another CMS. It’s down to the feedback you’re giving after release. If you’re reviewing a feature after is has been released then you’re putting yourself in a position where you have to deal with it.

I’m putting in my vote too that I DO NOT LIKE the new inline linking for the same reason as velvetlounger described above.

I’ve used target=”_blank” since I began my blog in 2007 and am quite surprised to find that it’s a no-no. Lots of people who read my blog will tell me when they find something clunky, yet no one has ever complained about links opening in a new tab.

So I’ve learned two new things: (1) Apparently I’ve been misbehaving for 9 years. (2) My readers are either unaware of this rule or they’re too polite to tell me.
Sigh.