How to Open a URL in a New Tab using JavaScript

Opening a URL in a new browser tab is a common task in web development. It allows you to link to another page without navigating away from the current page. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore several methods to open a URL in a new tab using JavaScript.

Why Open Links in New Tabs

Here are some key reasons why you may want to open links in new tabs:

• Improve user experience by allowing users to easily compare web pages side-by-side.
• Keep users on your website longer by opening external links in new tabs.
• Reduce bounces when linking to another page on your site by keeping original page open.
• Enable easier navigation by allowing back/forward without disrupting user flow.

Overall, opening links in new tabs leads to better usability. Users have more control over their browsing experience.

HTML Approach

Before we dive into JavaScript solutions, let‘s quickly review the standard HTML way to open links in new tabs.

To open a link in a new tab, add a target="_blank" attribute to anchor (<a>) tags:

<a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank">Visit Example.com</a>

When a user clicks on this link, the URL will open in a new browser tab.

The target="_blank" approach works well for static links. But often you‘ll want to control tab opening behavior dynamically with JavaScript.

window.open() Method

The easiest way to open a URL in a new browser tab via JavaScript is using window.open():

window.open(‘https://www.example.com‘, ‘_blank‘);

window.open() accepts two main parameters:

• URL to open
• Specific window name

By passing ‘_blank‘ as the second argument, we tell window.open() to load the URL in a new tab.

Let‘s look at a complete example using a button click to trigger opening a link in a new tab:

<button onclick="openTab()">Open Example.com</button>

<script>
function openTab() {
  window.open(‘https://www.example.com‘, ‘_blank‘);  
}
</script>

Now when a user clicks the button, our JavaScript function executes window.open() to load Example.com in a fresh browser tab.

Customizing New Tab Behavior

window.open() includes some other useful options for handling browser tabs:

• _self – Opens URL in same tab
• _parent – Opens URL in parent frame
• _top – Opens URL and replaces all frames

For example, to replace the current tab content instead of opening a new tab:

window.open(‘https://www.example.com‘, ‘_self‘);

Cross Browser Support

window.open() tabs work seamlessly in modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.

However, in Internet Explorer the behavior can vary depending on security zones and user settings. So test appropriately if IE11 support is needed.

The good news is IE11 usage continues to rapidly decline as users switch to more secure modern browsers.

programmaticEmulatedClick()

Another JavaScript approach to open a URL in a new tab is programatically "clicking" an anchor tag with a target="_blank".

Here is an example using programmaticEmulatedClick():

<a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank" id="newtab">Visit Example</a>

<script>
function openTab() {
  document.getElementById(‘newtab‘).click(); 
} 
</script>

This dynamically triggers a click on our anchor tag like a user physically clicked on it.

Since our anchor tag includes target="_blank", this will open the URL in a new browser tab.

programmaticEmulatedClick() works consistently across modern browsers, with decent legacy browser support as well.

However, manually managing click behavior can get messy for complex use cases vs directly calling window.open().

Creating & Appending Anchor

An alternative approach is to dynamically create an anchor tag in JavaScript and append to DOM:

let anchor = document.createElement(‘a‘);
anchor.href = ‘https://www.example.com‘; 
anchor.target = ‘_blank‘; 

anchor.textContent = ‘Visit Example.com‘;

document.body.append(anchor);
anchor.click();

Here we programmatically perform the following steps:

1. Create new <a> element
2. Set href to desired URL
3. Set target of ‘_blank‘
4. Add link text
5. Append to DOM
6. Trigger click event to open URL

This gives us complete dynamic control to customize our anchor tag on the fly before opening it in a new tab.

Use this technique when needing to populate anchor tag details or locations at runtime.

Handling Cross-Domain Links

If your web application contains links to external cross-origin domains, some additional access constraints come into play.

Browser cross-origin security policies will block access attempts from calling functions like window.open() across different sites.

For example, trying to open example.com from yoursite.com:

// Blocked by cross-origin policy
window.open(‘https://example.com‘, ‘_blank‘);

You‘ll encounter similar cross-origin issues trying to programmatically click security-restricted anchor elements.

To avoid cross-domain browser blocks, open cross-origin links by relying on default anchor click behavior without JavaScript:

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank">Visit Example</a>

Using a regular anchor tag allows the link to naturally open in a new tab without security blocks.

If you need to dynamically generate cross-domain links, populate anchor tag href and target values on the server-side before sending to client for user clicks.

JavaScript Redirects

Another related new tab option is performing JavaScript redirects to open URLs.

For example, using window.location:

// Redirect browser session to example.com
window.location = ‘https://www.example.com‘;

However, JavaScript redirects open pages in the same tab by default. This overwrites the current browsing context unlike links in new tabs.

To force redirects into new tabs, combine JavaScript redirects with window.open():

window.open(window.location.href + ‘?newURL=https://example.com‘,‘_blank‘);

This dynamically constructs a redirect URL with the target location, and opens it in a fresh tab via _blank window name.

So JavaScript redirects can be useful alternatives to anchors for internal routing to new pages within your domain.

Tab Opening Best Practices

There are also several user experience best practices to keep in mind when handling browser tabs:

• Indicate external links with icons or styling to set expectations
• Don‘t open unnecessary number of tabs causing tab overload
• Remember user‘s previous tab state on return visits
• Save non-essential tab openings for user gesture events

Following standard link opening conventions and limiting unexpected tab behavior enhances web usability.

Conclusion

Opening URLs in new browser tabs is a key web development capability for improved user experience.

The JavaScript window.open() method offers a straightforward way to launch links in fresh tabs. For cross-domain links, rely on default anchor tag behavior to avoid security blocks.

Additional approaches like programmatic clicks and dynamic DOM anchors provide further ways to control tab opening if needed.

Follow best practices like clearly indicating new tabs to maximize usability.

With the rise of tabbed browsing, handling links effectively is crucial for modern web applications. JavaScript provides the options you need. Open those tabs, and happy coding!