Providing "Back To Article" Links

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 at 3:51 am | Comments off

If you're the type that writes technical (or other) articles that need examples, it's a good idea to provide a link back to the original article. Often times, your visitors may end up finding your example (as opposed to the original article) through a search engine. If you don't provide a link back to the article describing the technique, it doesn't do your visitors much good. If someone does happen upon your example through a search engine, it shouldn't be work for them to find out how to use this new found technique. For you, it's as simple as providing a link to the original article, but for them, they'll have to go back and dig through your archives hoping to find the original article.

I'm sure it seems like all that is obvious, and it should be, but I know I've been frustrated in the past when I've been in that situation. It's a small thing, but a great usability practice.

Comments

Robert Wellock
October 26th, 2004
11:24 AM | #

It's courtesy to do so and it can become a requirement if you are citing passages, etc.

Ray
October 26th, 2004
4:23 PM | #

Thanks for the reminder! I did a website for a friend of mine and included two slideshows. They both open in new windows. Thinking about it now, I know that I did NOT include a link back to the original website. You make a great point about not doing the visitor any good if they find his site through a search engine. It might actually be losing him potential business.

Scott
October 29th, 2004
11:58 PM | #

I always seem to link back to one or more articles if I write about something I found on someone elses weblog.

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