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External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window

By WebFactory

Site Administration & Utilities / URL Redirects & 301 Management

External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Review - In-Depth Analysis

Manage internal and external links on your site. Control link attributes like nofollow, noopener, and whether links open in a new window. SEO friendly with advanced features.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.73/10

User Rating

4.3/5 (based on 247+ reviews)

Active Installations

90,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Manage all external and internal links on your site. Control icons, nofollow, noopener, ugc (User Generated Content), sponsored and if links open in new window or new tab.

WP Links plugin was completely rebuilt in v2 and has lots of new features, like noopener, ugc and sponsored values for rel; font icons, internal links options and full WPMU support.

Check every single link on your site! See if it is broken or not, if it is redirected, what is the target and rel attribute and what page exactly it is linking to. This feature is a part of the WP Links PRO plugin.

After activating you can set all options for external and internal links on the plugin's admin page. The plugin filters the output and changes the links on the fly. The real contents will not be changed in the database.

WP External Links does not track, collect or process any user data. Based on that, we feel it is GDPR compatible.

Comparing to Alternatives

External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window offers comprehensive control over external link attributes, distinguishing itself among similar plugins.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Allows detailed customization of nofollow and dofollow rules by domain.
Manages noopener and noreferrer attributes automatically.
Intuitive interface for setting default behaviors and overrides.
Supports opening external links in new windows with ease.

Weaknesses

Free version offers limited features compared to pro.
No bulk removal of rel="noreferrer" from existing database entries.
Some users report lack of timely support response.
Requires manual editing of existing posts to apply changes.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback reveals a mix of satisfaction with functionality and frustration with support and limitations.

Positive highlights

"It works well for my blog." – Vladimir Unguru
"Essential Plugin for SEO Control Over External Links." – bondimedical3
"Intuitive interface and well-maintained." – bondimedical3

Common complaints

Lack of support responsiveness.
Plugin only affects new or edited posts, not existing content automatically.
Free version is very limited in features.
Some users experienced site issues after installation.

Weaknesses

No bulk database cleanup for rel="noreferrer" attributes.
Support does not respond to user queries promptly.
Limited functionality in free version discourages casual users.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Website owners and SEO professionals who need granular control over external link attributes and want to enhance SEO hygiene through customized nofollow and noopener settings.

Not ideal for

Users seeking a fully automated solution for existing content or those who require responsive support and extensive free features may find this plugin less suitable.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

Basic external link attribute management with limited customization options, suitable for small sites or testing.

Pro version (29 - 49 USD / year)

Advanced domain-based nofollow/dofollow rules, bulk processing capabilities, enhanced attribute controls, and priority support.

Final Verdict

External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window is a powerful tool for managing external link attributes with SEO benefits, especially in its pro version.

However, users should be aware of its limitations in the free version and potential support delays, making it best suited for those comfortable with some manual adjustments and seeking advanced link control.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window plugin.

External Links

Nofollow

Noopener

Screenshots

FAQ

Just use the option “Skip pages or posts” under the tab “Exceptions”.

For a more custom approach use the action wpel_apply_settings:
add_action( ‘wpel_apply_settings’, function () {
global $post;
$ignored_post_ids = array( 1, 2, 4 );

    if ( in_array( $post->ID, $ignored_post_ids ) ) {         return false;     }      return true; }, 10 );

Using this filter you can ignore any request, like certain category, archive etcetera.

Create redirect by using the wpel_link action. Add some code to functions.php of your theme, like:

add_action( 'wpel_link', function ( $link ) {     // check if link is an external links     if ( $link->is_external() ) {         // get current url         $url = $link->get_attr( 'href' );          // set redirect url         $redirect_url = '//somedom.com?url='. urlencode( $url );         $link->set_attr( 'href', $redirect_url );     } }, 10, 1 );

By adding this JavaScript code to your site:

jQuery(function ($) {     $('a[data-wpel-link="external"]').click(function (e) {         // open link in popup window         window.open($(this).attr('href'), '_blank', 'width=800, height=600');          // stop default and other behaviour         e.preventDefault();         e.stopImmediatePropagation();     }); });

See more information on the window.open() method.

Add this JavaScript code to your site:

jQuery(function ($) {     $('a[data-wpel-link="external"]').click(function (e) {         if (!confirm('Are you sure you want to open this link?')) {             // cancelled             e.preventDefault();             e.stopImmediatePropagation();         }     }); });

Use some JavaScript code for opening PDF files in a new window:

jQuery(function ($) {     $('a[href$=".pdf"]').prop('target', '_blank'); });

Use some CSS style to change the icon for secure sites using https:

a[href^="https"] .wpel-icon:before {   content: "\f023" !important; }

The code \f023 refers to a dashicon or font awesome icon.

Contributors and developers

“External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

WebFactory

Pro version Free Version Docs

WPS

6.73

Average

Pro version

Ratings

4.3 out of 5 | 247

Version

2.65

Last updated

2 weeks ago

Active installations

90,000+

WordPress version

7.0 or higher

PHP version

7.2 or higher

Languages

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External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (247)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (1)

WPS

6.73

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