Which links AjaxPress handles
On this page
Most links on your site load over ajax with no setup. A few are deliberately left to the browser, because loading them any other way would break them. This page lists them. For forms, see Forms.
Links left to the browser
| Link | What happens |
|---|---|
| Another website (a different domain or subdomain) | Normal page load |
target="_blank" (or a site-wide <base target>) | Opens in a new tab, as intended |
| Ctrl, Cmd, Shift or Alt held while clicking, or a middle click | The browser’s usual new tab, new window or download |
A download attribute | Downloads |
mailto:, tel:, sms: and javascript: links | Handled by the browser or device |
#section anchors on the same page | Scrolls, no navigation |
Anything under /wp-admin, /wp-json or /wp-content (uploaded files such as PDFs) | Normal page load |
| A page builder editor or Customizer link | Normal page load |
| Anything matching your Exclude Links patterns | Normal page load |
https://www.example.com and https://example.com count as different sites. If your links mix the two, the other one loads normally. Pick one address in Settings → General and stick to it.
Links that act as buttons
Themes often build controls out of links: a mini cart icon, an off-canvas menu toggle, a mega menu trigger, a search overlay, a quick-view button. They have an href, but their job is to open a panel.
AjaxPress lets these work. If any script on the page handles the click itself (by calling preventDefault()), AjaxPress stays out of it and the panel opens as designed. If you see a panel open and the page then navigate away anyway, update AjaxPress: this was fixed in 2.4.2.
Links to your own pages that should load normally
Some pages need a real page load: a page whose plugin only works on a fresh load, or a members area that switches the visitor’s session. Add them to Exclude Links.
A link reloads when it shouldn’t
See A link reloads the whole page for a step-by-step check.