Indicate External Links
by cubecolour · Uncategorized
Also makes 18 other plugins · 19.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Indicates external links in post, page and custom content.
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
C 65/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
600+
≈690 estimated
Momentum
+53%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “arrow” for “external link”. “arrow” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “external link” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
65 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.8%
of downloads still active
At least 600 of 15.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,770 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.
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: Update recency
Updated 495 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 7 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Last updated 495 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
39
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
20%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
-0.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| offsite your tag | #11 | #12 | down 1 |
| external links | #14 | #17 | 0 |
| external your tag | #23 | #17 | 0 |
| external link | #16 | #18 | down 1 |
| icon external link | #19 | #19 | down 1 |
| arrow your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| https your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “arrow” for “external link”. “arrow” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “external link” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “offsite”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 266 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.4y ago
latest release · v1.1.0 · 23 Jun 2025
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 95% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “600+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 20 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 700.
Install history since 19 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ MeowOrNever9mo ago
Although this simple, but important, effect may be produced with a little CSS coding, I appreciate the convenience of this plugin. It has been ‘set and forget’ on my original wiki. I’m converting to a new site and reviewing plugins. Currently at ‘not tested’ status, I hope the author reviews, just to make sure it doesn’t break going forward.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ John4.5y ago
As I’m of those who, despite what you’ll read everywhere, firmly believes that external links should always open in a new window, I found this plugin quite useful and easy to implement. Great idea!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nikdow4.9y ago
Very reliable has survived many Wp updates and just keeps working.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ meadows199.8y ago
Simple and quick. No settings needed. Works fine.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcodimitri110.3y ago
Elegant, intuitive… really beautiful pl to show external links in professional mode. Marco
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Noumaan Yaqoob11.9y ago
I tested the plugin and it does exactly what it promises. It is useful plugin and thanks to authors for sharing it with the community. I had this little problem though, the plugin adds JavaScript and CSS into WordPress header wp_head which makes it difficult to override in the theme’s stylesheet. It would be nice to have them properly enqueued so that users can override them in their theme’s stylesheet if they want. Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ quantaweb12.0y ago
This plugin is just what I was looking for. I wanted to indicate external links in an obvious (but not distracting) way, without slowing down the page. Indicate External Links does that beautifully. I’ll be using this on all the sites I build from here on out.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.8.3
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 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 8 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 218 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "offsite" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-11 700+ → 600+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-10-08 600+ → 700+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-10-04 700+ → 600+ down after 10 days in tier
- 2026-09-24 600+ → 700+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-09-20 700+ → 600+ down after 223 days in tier
- 2026-02-09 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-08 700+ → 800+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-02-05 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
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).
-
Nofollow External Links (SEO) 100+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D - E External Link Redirection 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Hostinger Tools 3M+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag B -
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A - P Page Links To 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Indicate External Links into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/indicate-external-links" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Indicate External Links — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Indicate External Links: 600+ active installs, 5.0★ (7 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/indicate-external-links
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