potential advantages/disadvantages of window.location over a tag with href?

Question

I inherited some code with <img src="../...gif" onclick="aURL"> .

I was wondering the reason behind this choice so I would like to know any potential advantages/disadvantages of window.location over a tag with href ?

I am considering changing to <a href="aURL"><img src="../...gif"></a> .

Thanks,

Answer 1

The main disadvantage with the <img onclick=""> approach I immediately see is that various forms of clicks will not work, eg Ctrl +click opening in a new tab, Shift +click opening in a new window, etc.

Also, JavaScript being disabled is also an area the onclick="window.location=x;" fails.

Definitely use an anchor here like you're thinking, that's its purpose.

Answer 2

As for the reason, I can't speak to that.

Typically, you're always better off setting the href on an anchor, even if you don't intend to use it. The href should be set as a fallback in case the user doesn't have JavaScript enabled, or if a bot is crawling your site and won't use the onclick event. If you have to open a popup, then put that in the onclick and return false so it doesn't hit the href. I would definitely recommend removing the onclick from the <img> and putting it in an <a> wrapping it.