How do I open a link in a new tab in Webflow?

Open Link settings on the element

A link in Webflow is a text link, a link block, or a button. An image becomes a link when you place it inside a link block. The new-tab choice is a link setting on that element. It is not a style, and it is not a class.

Select the element on the canvas or in the Navigator. Open the Element settings panel. The shortcut is D. Choose the link type first. The fields under it change with the type, and the checkbox is listed only on some of them.

Webflow's link settings article lists Open in a new tab for a URL, a static page, and a Collection page. Check the box when that destination should open in a new browser tab. Leave it unchecked when the link should replace the page the visitor is already on.

Example: a pricing page button uses a URL that points at a partner signup form. Check Open in a new tab so the form opens in a new tab and the pricing page stays where it was. A navbar button that goes to your own contact page can leave the box off. Moving through your own site is easier to follow in one tab.

The checkbox does not change the address. If the button opens the wrong site, fix the URL or the page you picked. The new-tab setting only decides whether that address replaces the current tab.

Use it on a page or a Collection item

A Page link points at a static page on your site. Pick the page from the Page dropdown, or use Search pages to find it. Search pages is not available inside a rich text element. Check Open in a new tab only when that static page should leave the current tab. A menu usually should not. A link inside a long article sometimes should, when the reader still needs the article open.

A Collection page link is for a Collection list or a Collection page. Each item can open its own Collection page, or the Collection page of a referenced item. The same checkbox is on that link type. Check it on the link element inside the list. Every item that uses the element opens in a new tab. You do not walk through the items and check a box on each one.

If one card opens in a new tab and the next does not, you edited a different link. In the Navigator, select the link inside the Collection list and read Link settings there.

Open a file in a new tab

A file link attaches an asset to the element. Webflow says image and document files open in the same tab, and other file types download to the computer. If you want an image or a document to open in a new tab, check Open in a new tab on that file link.

File links are a premium feature, available on paid plans. A site that does not have that feature will not offer this attachment. The checkbox also does not turn a downloaded file type into a browser tab. It changes images and documents, which otherwise reuse the tab the visitor is in.

Example: a handbook page links a PDF. Without the checkbox, the PDF replaces the handbook. With the checkbox, the PDF opens in a new tab and the handbook stays put. Publish after the change. A click in the Designer is not the same check as a click on the published site.

Skip the types that do not list the checkbox

Page section, email, and phone are separate link types. The link settings article does not list Open in a new tab for them. A page section link jumps to an element id on the current page, so it stays in this tab. An email link lets the visitor send mail to an address. A phone link starts a call to a number.

If the destination is a section on another page, or on another site, use the URL type instead of Page section. Put the full address in the URL field, including the # and the section id, then check Open in a new tab. That is a URL link. The page section type is only for sections on the page you are editing.

Do not paste a script into the URL field to force a new tab. The supported control is the checkbox on the link types that include it. If the checkbox is missing, you are on page section, email, or phone. Switch the type to URL, Page, Collection page, or File, and look again.

Publish and click the live link

Link settings belong to the element you selected. A second button that shares a class does not inherit the checkbox. Open each button that should leave the site and read its Link settings. Shared padding does not mean a shared destination.

Publish the site, then click the link on the live domain. A checked URL should open a new browser tab. An unchecked page link should replace the current tab. If the live click still replaces the tab, you checked a different element, or this page was not in the publish.

Check a desktop browser and a phone. A phone may put the new tab in a tab switcher instead of beside the current window. The setting is still that checkbox. If the new tab is blank, the URL is empty or invalid. Correct the address, publish, and click once more.

Use the new tab for a partner form, a document, or another site. Menus and buttons that continue a visit on your own site can stay in the same tab.