WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Question about links opening in new tabs/windows

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Dec 2, 2013 5:51PM


Birkir R. Gunnarsson wrote:

> Out of curiosity, what WCAG SC would you call it out if there is a
> visual indication that a link opens in a new window but this is not
> apparent in link text or programmatically?

1.1.1.

It seems a stretch to make this fit into 4.1.2.

> All that being said, it can sometimes be convenient to have links open
> in a new window, for instance TWitter links on your timeline.

Yep. If done consistently to all links, this can be useful in certain
applications, though in standard web pages, it's just a pain. When all
links in an application consistently open in a new tab/window, I can
easily argue that providing a visual indication for all of these links
would simply clutter the interface and make it less accessible.

Jared