[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #57155: On the Add New plugin page the WordPress Plugin Directory link opens the link on the same page.

[WordPress Trac]

#57155: On the Add New plugin page the WordPress Plugin Directory link opens the
link on the same page.
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 Reporter:  tahmidulkarim            |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement              |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                   |   Milestone:  6.2
Component:  Plugins                  |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                   |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-screenshots 2nd-     |     Focuses:  ui, accessibility,
  opinion                            |  administration
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Changes (by ryokuhi):

 * milestone:  Awaiting Review => 6.2


Comment:

 We reviewed this ticket during today's Accessibility Team's bug scrub.

 As pointed out, a general discussion is happening in #23432 regarding
 links opening in a new tab.

 From the accessibility point of view, in general, it's better to avoid
 opening links in a new tab, as they cause changes of context, which are
 [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#dfn-change-of-context defined in WCAG 2.1]
 as
 > Major changes in the content of the Web page that, if made without user
 awareness, can disorient users who are not able to view the entire page
 simultaneously.

 Users already have the opportunity to open a link in a new tab if they
 want, and leaving them such a choice is generally better than making a
 choice for them. There are a few situations when it might be better to
 open a link in a new tab (for example, in case a user is filling a form
 and opening a link in the same tab would cause a data loss), but this is
 not the case here.

 That said, in case a link opens in a new tab, users should be aware of it
 in advance: adding an icon for this purpose might be an option, but icons
 are ambiguous. For example, using the dashicons-external icon isn't really
 correct, as it should be used for external links and not for links opening
 in a new tab: external links often open in a new tab, but these are really
 two different concepts. A written-out sentence would be in general better,
 but adding " (opens in a new tab)" in the middle of a sentence isn't
 probably the best option here.

 As pointed out by @costdev during the bug scrub, the actual problem here
 is that there's
 > a potential communication issue. Uploading a plugin via Zip file is
 given instructions there, whereas a user may click the WordPress Plugin
 Directory link thinking this is the right next step to "automatically
 install plugins".
 So, a better phrasing of this sentence would probably solve the issue
 without making the link open in a new tab.

 A possible plan to solve the issue would be:
 - propose possible rephrasing,
 - ask for copy review,
 - write the patch.

 ''Thanks to @sabernhardt, who during the bug scrub checked if the link
 previously had a `target` attribute.''

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/57155#comment:4>
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