Codious External Links Opener
by Codious Technologies · Uncategorized
Also makes 1 other plugin · 10+ installs across the portfolio →
Automatically adds target="_blank" and rel="noopener noreferrer" to external links in post content to improve user experience and security.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 73/100
Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈17 estimated
Momentum
-12%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “noreferrer” and “noopener” to your wp.org tags. You rank #13 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
73 health vs 58 average across 25,763 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.5%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 393 lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,773 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 304 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
+0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| rel noopener your tag | #11 | #10 | 0 |
| noreferrer | #13 | #10 | down 2 |
| noopener | #14 | #9 | 0 |
| target blank your tag | #23 | #22 | 0 |
| external links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| new tab your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “noreferrer” and “noopener” to your wp.org tags. You rank #13 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
- One page off on “rel noopener”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 2 Jan 2026 · 304 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 71 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,400 to #44,800, alongside the other plugins at 10+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
10mo ago
latest release · v1.1 · 2 Jan 2026
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 2 Jan 2026
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ sukh0096mo ago
External Links in New Window / New Tab is one of the best free WordPress plugins for automatically opening external links in a new tab. The plugin is lightweight, easy to configure, and works perfectly without affecting website speed or SEO performance. If you are searching for the best external links opener WordPress plugin, WP external links solution, or a simple way to make all external links open in a new tab in WordPress, this plugin is an excellent choice. It helps improve user experience by keeping visitors on your website while external pages open separately. The setup process is very beginner-friendly. You can quickly enable options for opening external links in a new window or new tab directly from the WordPress dashboard without editing any code. The plugin also allows you to exclude specific domains or customize link behavior easily. Compared to many heavy external link management plugins, this plugin remains fast, clean, and compatible with most WordPress themes and page builders. It is especially useful for bloggers, affiliate marketers, news websites, and SEO-focused websites that regularly use outbound links. If you want a reliable plugin for adding external links in WordPress while improving navigation and reducing bounce rate, External Links in New Window / New Tab is highly recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ moratto10mo ago
Good little plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vikaskumar9410mo ago
This plugin is very convenient because after installation it automatically opens external links in a new tab, without requiring extra configuration. It smartly ignores email (mailto) and phone (tel) links, so only real external hyperlinks are affected. I tested it along with a WordPress automatic internal links plugin and a WordPress plugin auto internal link setup, and there were no conflicts at all. Internal links remain untouched while external URLs correctly open link in a new tab. If you are using an auto internal linking plugin WordPress website and want a clean solution to manage external links, this plugin works perfectly for open in new tab WordPress functionality. Lightweight, automatic, and SEO-friendly. Thank Codious Technologies for building a simple and effective solution.
Read on wp.org ↗
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
3 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Automatically adds target="_blank" and rel="noopener noreferrer" to external links in post content to impro..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 555 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 4 tags appear in the text ("new tab", "rel noopener", "target blank" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
Open Links In New Tab 800+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D -
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A - T Target _blank – Force links to open in a new tab 200+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags C
-
External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Daisy Links – open links in new tab, add nofollow attribute, disable right click on links 50+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Codious External Links Opener into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/codious-external-links-opener" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Codious External Links Opener — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Codious External Links Opener: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/codious-external-links-opener
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