diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg.py
index 55186f713d49..ce81f0e201bd 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg.py
@@ -317,7 +317,8 @@ def show():
 
         if rcParams['webagg.open_in_browser']:
             import webbrowser
-            webbrowser.open(url)
+            if not webbrowser.open(url):
+                print("To view figure, visit {0}".format(url))
         else:
             print("To view figure, visit {0}".format(url))