Option: Force external links to open in a new tab and internal links in the original tab

[ricjcs]

It is usually recommended to configure external links to open in a new tab, and internal links to open in the same tab.

But sometimes it happens that we don't always follow that. There is the situation of leaving all links to open on the same tab; the situation of configuring to always open in a new tab; and even set up without any sense.

There is also the situation that a site has several authors, and each one sets up in a different way, without following the recommendations.

For these reasons, regardless of how the links were configured, it is very useful to have an option that if checked force the external links to open in a new tab and the internal links in the same tab.

The optional configuration could be done at "Settings>Reading". It would have a title, a brief description and two simple phrases with a checkbox, which the user could tick if he wanted. Something like this:

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Link behavior

Checking the following options causes the original configuration of the links to be ignored and to have the behavior marked.

[X] Force external links to open in a new tab
[X] Force internal links to open in the original tab

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[joedolson]

Opening tabs in new links should only ever be done very selectively, and must be clearly indicated to the user. This is because users of assistive technology or people with a low level of familiarity with how web pages operate can be easily disoriented by pages opening in a new tab.

While you're always free to author a plug-in that can force this, it is not appropriate for the core WordPress content management system to offer an option that explicitly and significantly decreases the accessibility of the web site.

[ricjcs]

But precisely for this reason, the option to force links to open in the original tab would be a useful option for when hundreds of links were not well configured.

[joedolson]

Except that can *also* be a problem. Some links should open in a new tab - such as links that provide instructions necessary to complete a complex form. If those opened in the same tab, the user could conceivably lose their data. There isn't really a good global way to determine whether or not a link should open in a new tab.

[ricjcs]

Ok Joe, understood, thanks for the explanation.