Open external links in a new window

plugin banner

Opens all (or specific) external links in a new window. XHTML Strict compliant and search engine optimized (SEO).

Author:WebFactory Ltd (profile at wordpress.org)
WordPress version required:4.0
WordPress version tested:6.5
Plugin version:1.44
Added to WordPress repository:24-09-2010
Last updated:26-03-2024
Rating, %:90
Rated by:72
Plugin URI:https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/open-ext...
Total downloads:429 416
Active installs:40 000+
plugin download
Click to start download

Opens external links in a new tab or a or new window. You can set URLs that should either be forced to open in a new window or ignored.

The plugin produces XHTML Strict compliant code and is search engine optimized (SEO).
This is done using JavaScript’s window.open()-function. It adds only a few lines of vanilla JavaScript to the page, and does not require any external libraries like jQuery.

Most other plugins perform a hack by altering the target parameter (i.e. <a href="http://somewhere.example" target="_blank">). That method is not XHTML Strict compliant.
This plugin handles the links client-side, which lets search engines follow the links properly. Also, if a browser does not support JavaScript, the plugin is simply inactive, and does not result in any errors.

If you need a more advanced plugin, with more options try our free WP External Links plugin.

Credits
Inspired by the Zap_NewWindow plugin by Tom Köhler.
The banner is a photo by Monja Da Riva.

Translations
Danish by Kristian Risager Larsen
Dutch by Paul Staring
Lithuanian by Vincent G
Other translations will be appreciated!

Known bugs
The plugin conflicts with other plugins that change the links’ `onClick´ attribute.

Original developer
Kristian Risager Larsen – kezze.dk


Screenshots
FAQ
ChangeLog