In the partner dashboard the “stores” button now opens in the new dev dashboard - and more importantly opens in a new tabs which is a terrible web ux mistake.
I could spend hours talking with passion as to why it’s an issue but to make it simpler: We do have shortcuts (i.e. ctrl+click) to open in a new tab, and the user expects it to open by default in the same tab. Forcing opening in a new tab breaks the navigation history (back button) and the way the user uses their browser.
In case the voice of a “trusted expert” carries more weight than mine, I asked chat gpt for you to review:
Hey @Soufiane_Ghzal, thanks for the feedback! Store management has moved out of the Partner Dashboard and into the Dev Dashboard, which now lives at its own address (dev.shopify.com/dashboard) rather than under partners.shopify.com. Because the Stores link points at that separate surface, it opens in a new tab with the external-link icon you’re seeing.
I hear you on the UX side though. That’s reasonable feedback on the navigation experience, and useful for the team to consider as the Dev Dashboard continues to roll out.
Thanks for raising it here, I’ll ensure it’s passed on internally to the Dev Platform team.
Hi @Donal-Shopify thank for your response but it does not make me happier. You have to understand that we use the partner dashboard daily. The dev dashboard is something that is slowly being forced to us despite not being finished, because some features are available on one side and some on the other, I wouldn’t consider it as a different surface, we need to use both daily for complementary tasks.
Browsers do have a shortcut to open any link in a new tab, but afaik there is no shortcut to force opening in the same tab. Forcing new tabs to users is good when you have low tech users who dont know much about it, but when you’re dealing with power users who optmize for their daily workflow, you must never use a new tab URL and let the user decide what they want to do at the moment they click
Completely fair - you’re right to push on it. I appreciate the “separate surface” framing doesn’t match your lived experience.
I’ve gone ahead and logged this as formal product feedback for the team on the stores migration with your reasoning attached. I can’t promise how or when they’ll act since they’re focused on the rollout, but it’s with the right people. Thanks @Soufiane_Ghzal!
