Think Before You Link!
© 2000 by Tracy Clifford
Everywhere you click these days, you read articles by
professional Internet Marketers telling you to use the "target"
or "new window" feature on your website links, to open new
windows, when clicked. The idea is to not "lose" visitors; to
"keep" them at your site longer.
I'm here to urge you to think about this one, before implementing
it on your webpages!
At first blush, it seems like a good idea, and I used it myself
for awhile. But then I went to several sites that used that
tactic, and promptly went back to my own and changed my links
back!
Why? Because before I knew it, I had 11 different windows open,
and had to search for the original, because, of course, none of
the back buttons lead anywhere!
This was very annoying, and I wished I had more control over the
situation, but it was out of my hands; me, the visitor with the
purse, was left to clean up my cluttered desktop after someone
who was trying to sell me something...hmm, is this really a
professional way to do business?
Plus, if your visitor has a slower system, this can really bog
them down, and may lead to a crash, and then how will they feel
about returning to your website?
Using this feature disables the back button, which is a newbies
"safety net" and standard 'Net navigation. So when someone with
this expectation comes to your site, and every link opens a new
window, it can become confusing at best and downright annoying,
at worst!
I think we'll be hearing the pro marketers recanting this tactic
in the future, since it disregards the standard operating
procedure of the Internet, meaning "Go ahead! Click on anything,
and use your back button to return to where you started."
But, hey! Don't take MY word for it! Spend some time surfing,
especially your own site, and decide for yourself!
Tracy Clifford is a former Asst. Pastry Chef turned writer and
webmaster.
Visit her site for writers here:
http://www.webinfusion.com/PortalPage.htm
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