Zurich : Switching policy

Local treatment of external links gives a glimpse of internal governance.

The Site

Zurich, a Switzerland-based insurance and financial services group, allows local discretion over the launch of a third-party portal from its corporate and Swiss country sites.

Zurich provides a utility link to the official web portal of the city of Zurich on its main (.com) site, its Global Corporate Business sites and its Switzerland country site, which has French-, German- and Italian-language versions. Clicking the link on any of the Switzerland sites opens the Zurich city portal in a new, offset browser window; on the other sites, the portal opens in the current browser window, replacing the company site.

The Takeaway

Opinion is divided, if not entrenched, over whether the best way to present third-party sites is in a new browser window or the one currently open. Do you want to maintain the link with the host site (new window) or avoid ‘tiling’ over it (same window)? As Zurich shows, it is a debate that is as prevalent and unresolved within large organisations as it is in the world of website construction and usability.

When more than one policy holds good across a web estate, it’s a sure sign that in terms of its governance either the centre allows a degree of local autonomy or the dynamics of internal politics prevent it from mandating policy.

First published on 30 October, 2007