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How to Open External Links in a New Window in WordPress

How to Open External Links in a New Window in WordPress

WordPress recently implemented an option for opening external links in a new window directly within its block editor in pages and posts.

Launching links in a separate window is one of the best ways to reduce bounce rate and keep visitors on your site. In this article we’ll look at various approaches in WordPress for doing just that.

Plugins

Whenever adding external links to WordPress websites, it’s a smart idea to set them to open in a separate tab. This will enhance user experience by allowing visitors to return without clicking back button or returning directly back to home page; additionally, this practice increases pageviews and SEO rankings of your site.

There are various methods available for you, but the easiest and best approach would be using a plugin like WP External Links by WebFactory Ltd – free, with many features enabling you to control their behavior.

This plugin uses JavaScript to open external links automatically in new windows or tabs. Installation and activation are required before it can begin work; once active, accessing its settings can be achieved by clicking on WP External Links menu item in your sidebar. From here, there are numerous settings you can configure including whether to display icons next to links as well as whether or not they open in new tabs/windows.

Manually editing HTML code of a link to change its target=”_blank” attribute can also set links to open in new tabs. Once completed, save your changes and your links should now open in a separate browser tab.

Gutenberg block editor (the standard WordPress editor in newer versions of WordPress software) features an internal feature to open external links in new tabs, though it can be hard for novice users to locate. Once selected from the toolbar’s link icon, this feature becomes accessible and provides an effective way of making sure external links open in new tabs for posts or pages created using this block editor – although older content will require either plugins or manual methods of doing this.

Gutenberg

Gutenberg block editor (which will become the standard WordPress editor in due time) includes an option for opening external links in a new tab when clicked. Simply add them to your post or page and check “Open in a new window”, making this the fastest and simplest way of doing it.

External Links in New Window/ New Tab by WebFactory Ltd is one such plugin that will automatically set all links on your site to open in a new tab, starting the moment you install and activate it. As soon as installed and activated it begins working with no delay – making use of its many options like nofollow/nofollow settings and adding NoFollow tags easy! Plus it works well with Gutenberg as well as other WordPress editors!

While nofollow links shouldn’t be the default choice on every external link on your site, in certain situations they can be beneficial. For example, when writing how-to guides with external resources linked, nofollow links may help keep visitors on your tutorial. In such instances, making each of the external links open in a new tab could prevent visitors from losing their place within it.

Another advantage of SEO is reducing loading time on your website. Visitors tend to be impatient, and waiting too long may prompt them to leave and harm user experience and brand reputation.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that while Gutenberg may become the default editor in WordPress, classic editors such as Divi, Visual Composer and Beaver Builder remain available as options. Gutenberg represents only the first step in an enormous project that will eventually turn WordPress into a full content-editing platform similar to popular page-builder plugins or do-it-yourself platforms like Medium or Wix.

Classic Editor

Links are an integral component of websites, linking pages or domains together and improving navigation and search engine optimization (SEO). Linking both internally and externally helps organize content, enhance navigation, and boost SEO rankings. A good practice would be opening external links in a new window in order to avoid distracting visitors and maintain engagement; there are various methods available but for maximum speed consider installinging plugins as these make things much faster.

WordPress now provides this feature through their block editor. All that is necessary to add external links is editing a page or post where you wish to link, selecting text for linking purposes and then clicking “Insert link” while checking “Open in new tab”.

This method is the easiest and most user-friendly option, working across both Gutenberg and Classic platforms. Unfortunately, however, its popularity can sometimes lead to human errors as you must remember to click “Open in new tab” every time a link is inserted – potentially leaving room for human mistakes!

Use of a plugin that automatically sets all external links to open in a new window is another approach, though this method has its drawbacks; such as not working with comments and text widgets as well as potentially conflicting with other plugins that alter links’ onClick attributes.

Not using this approach with all your links is also not advised, as it will divert attention away from the site while disabling visitors’ ability to use the Back button – potentially leading to user frustration when trying to return back. Even experienced users may get annoyed if they need to navigate multiple windows in order to locate what they’re searching for.

Visual Editor

Links in WordPress play an essential role in site navigation and content organization. When clicked upon, they take visitors to other web pages or domains; to prevent visitors from leaving your website altogether, set your links up so they open in new windows; there are various plugins or core WordPress features to help achieve this effect.

If you use Gutenberg, the block editor included in newer versions of WordPress, you can quickly and easily make links open in a new tab by simply adding an attribute to them. To do this, highlight text to be linked, click on the chainlink icon in the editor toolbar, then select the “Open in new window” slider before saving and previewing your post or page to make sure all links work as intended.

The Classic editor remains available in older versions of WordPress, and you can utilize it to make links open in a new window. To do this, edit your blog post or page, then select text you’d like linked, click the add link button in the Classic editor toolbar, enter the URL for that link, select “Open in new window”, and click update button to complete this process.

Alternately, you could use the Insert link plugin to quickly alter the behavior of all of your links at once. It uses JavaScript to modify their onclick attribute and works on any browser or OS that supports JavaScript – making this plugin ideal for bloggers who wish to adjust all their links at once.

HTML provides another method of making external links open in a new window or tab, though it requires more effort from experienced users. To use this approach, highlight text you want linked, paste or type in the URL for the page that needs linking and add target=”_blank” attribute at end of link to tell web browsers to open this link in new tab or window.

If you want to make sure that all of your external links open in a new window, there is a setting in WordPress that allows you to do just that. Here’s how to open external links in a new window in WordPress.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.

2. In the left-hand sidebar, navigate to Settings > Links.

3. Check the box next to “Open external links in a new window.”

4. Click the “Save Changes” button.

Now all of your external links will open in a new window, keeping your site always open in the original window. Your visitors will appreciate being able to stay on your site while they explore the external links you’re sharing.