WordPress Plugin: rel=”external” in a New Window
rel=”external” in a New Window is a plugin for WordPress that tells your browser to open a new window the rel=”external” tag is located within any <A> link. Here’s a few examples of how it can be used:
<a rel="external" href="http://www.example.com">External Link to example.com</a>
<a rel="external nofollow" href="http://www.example.com">External Nofollow Link to example.com</a>
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Is the Plugin Easy to Install?
You bet! The plugin is so simple to download and install:
- Download the plugin direct from the Plugin Page at WordPress.
- Upload the whole plugin folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
- Go to the Plugins page and activate the plugin!
That’s it! No settings, no options – just download, install and activate!
Why use rel=”external”?
Using the rel=”external” tag indicates that the link is not part of your own web site. Personally I want to make sure these sites open in a new window and at the moment rel=”external” does not do this.
Why can’t I just use target=”_blank” or target=”_new”?
You can if you want, but target=”_blank” and target=”_new” are not XHTML valid whereas rel=”external” is!
How Does this Plugin Interact with rel=”nofollow”?
Whether or not rel=”nofollow” is included or not, if external is within the rel tag it will open in a new window. Here are the 3 scenarios where rel=”external” can be used:
rel="external"
rel="external nofollow"
rel="nofollow external"
In each instance, a new window will open when the rel=”external” plugin for WordPress is active.
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Maintained by Alex Moss
Alex is a partner at Pleer. He has worked in SEO for over 5 years and has been messing with HTML since he was 13. Alex is known mostly for his WordPress plugins, and contributes to Econsultancy, 123Reg, State of Search and many more.
