External Links in New Window / New Tab

81 Quality Score

Active Installs

20/30

The plugin has 30,000 active installs, which gives it a moderate reach but it sits well below heavier hitters in the same space.

Update Freshness

25/25

It was last updated on May 21, 2026 and tested with WordPress 7.0, signalling active upkeep from the developer.

User Rating

14/15

With a 90 out of 100 score from 77 ratings, user sentiment is clearly positive, though the small sample of raters limits how much weight that carries.

Support Health

8/15

There are zero support threads on the WordPress.org forum, which is unusual for a plugin of this install count and could mean either very few issues or unresolved users going elsewhere for help.

WP Compatibility

15/15

It requires only WordPress 4.0 and PHP 5.2, making it compatible with virtually any modern WordPress installation.

Scores higher than 84% of indexed plugins

About

Open external links in a new window or new tab. SEO optimized and XHTML Strict compliant.

Active Installs 30k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.5/5

Last Updated 2026-08-16 12:59pm GMT

Requires WordPress 4.0+

Tested Up To 7.1.2

Requires PHP 5.2+

Security History

2 known vulnerabilities, all patched

2 Medium

Most recent: May 9, 2022

View details ▸

What It Does

This plugin automatically adds target="_blank" to external links in your WordPress content so they open in a new browser tab or window. It works on links within posts, pages, and other content areas without requiring manual editing of each link. The plugin is built to produce clean, XHTML Strict compliant output.

Who It's For

This is a good fit for bloggers, publishers, and resource curators who frequently link out to external sites and want to keep visitors on their own pages. Educational sites, news websites, affiliate marketing pages, and directory-style sites that send users to many outside resources will benefit most from automating this behaviour.

Who Should Skip It

Site owners who only link to internal pages or rarely include outbound links will not see meaningful benefit. Developers comfortable adding target="_blank" manually in their theme or block editor settings can also skip this plugin.

The Bottom Line

This plugin does one narrow thing and does it well, with a strong maintenance record, fresh compatibility testing against WordPress 7.0, and a solid 81.05 overall quality score. The lack of support forum activity is the only real question mark, though it may simply reflect a stable codebase with few issues. For a simple, set-and-forget solution to opening external links in a new tab, it is a reliable choice.

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Use Cases

bloggers who link to sources news and media websites affiliate marketers content creators with external references small business websites SEO-conscious site owners online magazines educational websites with citations review and comparison sites e-commerce sites linking to partners