Warn users before opening a new window
G201 says warn the reader before a link opens a new window. W3C's test wants that warning to arrive two ways. Spoken by assistive technology, and visible on screen. Putting the words in the link text satisfies both at once, which is why that is W3C's own first example. Read the status before treating this as a fix. W3C lists G201 as advisory at four criteria, including link purpose at Level A, and marks it sufficient nowhere. The technique page carries the same explicit note as its neighbor, that following it is not required to meet any particular criterion. There is also a scope line worth knowing. It covers ordinary activation, a left-click or Enter or Space on a focused control. It does not cover a reader who deliberately opens a new tab themselves, through the context menu or a middle click.
How we find it in an audit
Our reviewers find every link that opens a new window and check both channels. An icon marked decorative is invisible to speech. A visually hidden note is invisible on screen. We also check the wording sits inside the link text rather than beside it, since a link list read out of context carries only the link text.
How affected users experience it
A screen reader user who lands in a new window has no signal that anything changed. The first sign is usually that Back stops working, and by then they are lost and looking for a way out. Putting the consequence into the link text means they hear it while they are still deciding, which turns a surprise into a choice. Voice control users and readers with cognitive disabilities get the same benefit for the same reason.
Passes vs. fails
Passes
<a href="guide.pdf" target="_blank">Size guide (opens in new window)</a>. The consequence is part of the link text every reader perceives.Fails
<a href="guide.pdf" target="_blank">Size guide</a> opens a new window with no hint in the name, and the icon beside it is hidden from assistive technology.How this gets tested
The W3C publishes test rules that define what a checker looks for here.
- Link has non-empty accessible nameA tool can check this
- Link in context is descriptiveA tool can check this
- Links with identical accessible names and same context serve equivalent purposeA tool finds candidates, you decide
- Form field label is descriptiveA tool can check this
- Heading is descriptiveA tool can check this
- Link is descriptiveA tool can check this
- Links with identical accessible names have equivalent purposeA tool can check this
- Meta element has no refresh delayA tool can check this
- Meta element has no refresh delay (no exception)A tool can check this
The other techniques filed under this rule
22 guides on this site are filed under 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context). W3C lists this one as advisory for that rule rather than sufficient, which means it helps real readers without being accepted as evidence you conformed.
- ARIA7sufficientBuild clear link names from nearby headings
- ARIA8sufficientFix vague link text with aria-label
- C7sufficientAdd hidden text to clarify short links
- G53sufficientLet the sentence around a link explain it
- G91sufficientWrite link text that states its purpose
- G189sufficientOffer a switch to self-describing link text
This guide is our interpretation of W3C technique G201: Giving users advanced warning when opening a new window. W3C publishes its techniques as guidance rather than as the standard, and says so on every one of them. The success criterion is what conformance is measured against, and a technique is one documented way to meet it.