To Pop-up or Not ? The right and the wrong times to open new windows

One of the main things to consider is how closely does the content I'm linking to relate to the subject of my website.

There is a fine line between ads and sponsors for example. 

In recent sites such as Sport 4 The Environment and Athletics Australia, the program sponsors, partners and affiliates open in the same window.   As program sponsors are typically contained in a website footer anyway, and they have distinct brands, so we feel that it is acceptable practice to do this.

On the homepage of Athletics Australia, there is also a prominent advertising banner.  This opens in a new window.  Animated and advertising banners are treated differently, and because they are actively promoting a product or service, should be kept at arms length.  These ads may well be blocked, but it won't necessrily hurt the site if they are.  Launching ads in a new window automatically is a bad idea, as they will almost always be blocked.    Footer credits to a website designer, should almost always be opened in a new window.

In some cases, such as affiliate advertising programs like Google Adsense and Adwords, these program may force one or the other, and sometimes it is so that they can track clicthroughs and other information in the process. 

To get around these things, some sites like Fairfax media websites are using Flash and DHTML techniques to "float" ads over the content of the page, effectivelly embedding pop-ups into the site.  They are increasingly containing animated and even video content.  This can avoid the use of pop-ups, and solve some navigation issues but is not without its own annoyances, as it forces users to have to either view the ad or close the ad before viewing the content.  As nifty as the idea might seem, this alternative doesn't always cut it in the "instant gratification" mode of the Internet.  Subjecting people to the sort of advertising they are used to on free-to-air television wastes their time, so while it might be appropriate for an entertainment website, it is a big no no for a e-business website. 

For many of the abovementioned reasons, it is generally recommended not to use too many inline links to external webpages.  Firstly, because the links could become broken and are difficult to track without using a link checker.  Secondly, because it is not entirely clear how to deal with them.  Do you open them in a new window or open them in the same window ?  One way or another, they will cause people to exit your site.  When you need to reference external material, especially when it is subjected to copyright, there isn't much choice. 

As it is an ever-evolving field, there haven't been too many conclusive studies on this subject.  Some usability trends have obviously influenced the way that Internet browsers interact with web pages.  There are pros and cons of each approach we have mentiobned, and as advertisers find more ways to annoy us, no ultimate solution to the cause of the pop-up problem.  Are most users savvy enough to handle each of these different situations ?  We believe so.  But in the end, it comes down to a matter of personal preference.

We believe it is possible to strike a balance between the needs of marketing, PR, brand and usability. 

So we're also interested in hearing from you about your preferred way of navigating the net and perhaps your experience with making navigation models more effective on your own site.

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