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Target _blank vs External Links in New Window / New Tab

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

External Links in New Window / New Tab is the safest pick: health A · 88 against 59 for Target _blank, led by stronger maintenance.

Active-install trajectory

No change to chart. WordPress.org reports active installs in coarse bands, so neither plugin crossed a band during this window. The download trend below moves daily and is the better read over a period this short.

Metric	Target _blank	External Links in New Window / New Tab
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	200–300	30K–40K ✓
Active installs, change over ~6 months Compares the public install bands. One band step shows as the band change, not a percentage.	Stable	Stable
Overall health	C · 59	A · 88 ✓
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	43/100	100/100 ✓
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	69/100	87/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100	70/100
Rating (weighted for review count)	3.8★	4.4★ ✓
Reviews	2	77 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	69/100	97/100 ✓
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	Low	Low
Last updated	1.4y ago	3mo ago ✓
Downloads, last 30d	119	2.2K ✓
Download momentum, last 30d vs prior 30d Dips that follow a release spike are normal: wp.org counts every update as a download, so the weeks after a release run lower.	+33%	+22%
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	2.0%	6.0% ✓
Category	Uncategorized	Uncategorized

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

Target _blankExternal Links in New Window / New Tab

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.