External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer
by NewCodeByte · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 220+ installs across the portfolio →
Manage external links: new tabs, add rel attribute nofollow, noopener, noreferrer, sponsored, show icon on/off. SEO, secure, XHTML Strict compliant.
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 80/100
Few reviews
Active installs
50+
≈54 estimated
Momentum
+44%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “new tab” and “external links” for “xhtml” and “window”. “new tab” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “xhtml” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “external links” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #16. “window” sits at #18 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
80 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.1%
of downloads still active
At least 50 of 1.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 159 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 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.
48
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
39%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| noreferrer | #1 | #5 | up 1 |
| new window your tag | #7 | #23 | 0 |
| xhtml | #6 | #16 | 0 |
| noopener your tag | #8 | #14 | 0 |
| nofollow your tag | #14 | #23 | 0 |
| external links your tag | #16 | #24 | up 2 |
| rel noopener | #5 | #11 | 0 |
| add ugc in rel attribute | #5 | #7 | — |
| window | #18 | #24 | up 1 |
| new tab your tag | #20 | #23 | down 1 |
| new window external links | #8 | #23 | — |
| rel attribute | #19 | #24 | 0 |
| nofollow external links | #8 | #21 | 0 |
| rel nofollow | #15 | #22 | down 1 |
| external blogs tab | #12 | #24 | — |
| nofollow external link | #12 | #20 | up 2 |
| sponsored links | #14 | #24 | down 1 |
| rel nofollow link | #16 | #24 | up 1 |
| nofollow links | #20 | #23 | up 1 |
27 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 19 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “new tab” and “external links” for “xhtml” and “window”. “new tab” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “xhtml” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “external links” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #16. “window” sits at #18 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 “external links”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- One page off on “nofollow”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 26 May 2025 · 523 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 177 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #20,100 to #21,200, alongside the other plugins at 50+ 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 21 Oct 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
5mo ago
latest release · v1.3.4 · 25 May 2026
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “50+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 41% of the way through.
At the current install trend, crossing 60+ in roughly 170 days.
Install history since 26 May 2025
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Roberto1.3y ago
Very nice plugin, works excellent, super handy, thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 1 at 90% or more
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
7 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Manage external links: new tabs, add rel attribute nofollow, noopener, noreferrer, sponsored, show icon on/..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 8 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("ideal for", "who want", "who need").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 5 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,975 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "new window" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-02 40+ → 50+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-30 50+ → 40+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-27 40+ → 50+ up after 69 days in tier
- 2026-03-19 30+ → 40+ up after 58 days in tier
- 2026-01-20 20+ → 30+ up after 17 days in tier
- 2026-01-03 30+ → 20+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-02 20+ → 30+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-01 30+ → 20+ down after 7 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).
-
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ installs · 4.3★ · 5 shared tags A -
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 -
Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags A -
External Links New Tab 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
All Nofollow — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/smart-external-links-manager" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer: 50+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/smart-external-links-manager
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.