External Links. To Tab or Not. That is the question.

[RavenManiac]

So I'm in the process of building a new website that has a lot of external links to my client’s partners and suppliers. When redirecting a user outside of a website is it best to do a direct link or open the link up in a new tab?

When I looked at this a few years ago, the general consensus was that it was disrespectful to the user to force a new tab. I'm curious to see what the StudioPress community thinks today and if that opinion has changed.

Any thoughts on this subject is greatly appreciated.

[Andykev]

When you "link" to another site (a product, for a reference, or any article where there is a supporting background source or story) and you want the reader to go look, and come back to your site...it's best to "open link in a new tab".

This keeps your visitor on "your" website, and allows them to quickly reference another source and come back.

Not doing this, you risk a higher Bounce Rate when people leave your site and don't come back to it when they find another.

In other words, you build a website to showcase your work or product, then you redirect them somewhere else?

[RavenManiac]

That's a very good point, and something I had not considered. Thank you.

[Author]

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