5 Minute Usability Tip: Let the user open windows when & how they want.
It should go without saying but these days we all compare things – products, services, offers, jobs, even content sites yet many sites let technology get in the way of the user by preventing multiple windows. This is a simple and easy to address issue but one that plagues thousands of websites and turns users away in seconds. It doesn’t matter what your site is for, if you want to protect items from being saved, how the controls help your business or any other arguments – if a user can’t view items in a new window or is simply returned to a search when they try to open items up they’ll be less likely to find what they want, less likely to continue on and bail. So review your technology, review your links and be sure your site lends to easy comparing, easy page opening. It’s a simple thing to check for and often a simple fix but the impact can be big – keep your site useful, let windows work how the user wants them.
It should go without saying but these days we all compare things – products, services, offers, jobs, even content sites yet many sites let technology get in the way of the user by preventing multiple windows. This is a simple and easy to address issue but one that plagues thousands of websites and turns users away in seconds. It doesn’t matter what your site is for, if you want to protect items from being saved, how the controls help your business or any other arguments – if a user can’t view items in a new window or is simply returned to a search when they try to open items up they’ll be less likely to find what they want, less likely to continue on and bail. So review your technology, review your links and be sure your site lends to easy comparing, easy page opening. It’s a simple thing to check for and often a simple fix but the impact can be big – keep your site useful, let windows work how the user wants them.
