Two links in one

This (fig. 1) is the header of an entry in the RSS reader I'm building. The "Example feed" link is problematic. Indeed, it can lead to two different locations:

  1. The original website that is publishing the feed
  2. A page in the RSS reader that filters all entries from the feed

I have considered a few approaches to fix this confusing link:

  • Make a choice and provide only one destination. But it doesn't solve the issue, as the user still can't guess which destination has been chosen for him. Not to mention the lack of the other destination, introducing another problem.
  • Display two links instead of one. But it adds too much clutter compared to the little problem it solves.
  • Show a contextual menu when the mouse is moved over the link. But it requires more effort from the user: instead of just move and click, he has to move, figure out what is going on, move again, and click. Too much work, links must be simpler!

The best solution could be the last one, but not without tweaking. We have to get rid of the "too much effort from the user" problem. The trick is to show two links side by side in the popup menu, in such a way that one of the links is right under the cursor when the menu appears (fig. 2). This creates a default choice ("View here"), allowing the user to move and click without further effort for that default choice. And it's just a matter of moving the cursor slightly to the right when the user wants to select the alternative choice ("Visit website"). Still more effort required than for a regular link, but less than for a regular popup menu.

Tweaks: good copywriting hinting which link leads where, and good usability handling, basically taking care of zooming, scrolling, etc.

Markathon Example

Here is the first post of this blog. Not that it's an important news, but somehow, there must be a first post.