Traction External Links Speed Bump
by Traction · Performance
Activates a speed bump on all external links and gives site owner the ability to enter a list of domains or specific links that when clicked will not …
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
100+
≈180 estimated
Momentum
-16%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “compliance” and “external links” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
65 health vs 69 average across 1,810 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,107 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Performance 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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 484 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 4 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 484 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.
47
Momentum
Holding steady
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
40%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
+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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| traction your tag | #2 | #3 | down 1 |
| speed bump your tag | #3 | #11 | 0 |
| compliance your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| external links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “compliance” and “external links” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 254 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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
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
1.3y ago
latest release · v1.9.8 · 7 Jul 2025
19
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.4 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 80% of the way through.
Install history since 25 Jan 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee3.2y ago
Nice plugin, was able to delay your javascript until user interaction, working perfectly. I do have one suggestion, hope the Developer doesn’t mind… Would like to see modal/button/color options in the admin/user interface. Would like to see the plugin match my theme colors. Can be done of course with Custom CSS, just that I already have so much Custom CSS, I would hate to add more. Again, nice plugin, THANKS!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kelter3.5y ago
Seems to be working fine in WordPress 6.2.2. The only thing I’ve noticed is it creates a double slash in the URL which causes an issue for SEO as they will be interpreted as stand-alone URLs, which can result in duplicate content issues. Example… these show up in the <head>: <link rel='stylesheet' id='trelsb_frontend_style-css' href='...domain.com/wp-content/plugins/traction-external-links-speed-bump//css/traction-external-links-speed-bump.css?ver=6.2.2' media='all'/> <script src='...domain.com.com/wp-content/plugins/traction-external-links-speed-bump//js/traction-external-links-speed-bump.js?ver=6.2.2' id='trelsb_frontend_script-js'></script> You can see the double slash “traction-external-links-speed-bump//” This topic was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by Steven Stern (sterndata). This topic was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by kelter.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ChrisHPZ5.4y ago
Thank you so much for working with me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ravenous Raven Design7.0y ago
I needed a solution for my client and in the past I’ve developed credit unions I had to make these speed bumps manually with my own code. Now, finally, I can just use someone elses. WHEW! Thanks 🙂 So far it works great.
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 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 "Activates a speed bump on all external links and gives site owner the ability to enter a list of domains or..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 832 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-06-21 90+ → 100+ up after 124 days in tier
- 2024-02-18 100+ → 90+ down after 40 days in tier
- 2024-01-09 90+ → 100+ up after 61 days in tier
- 2023-11-09 80+ → 90+ up after 246 days in tier
- 2023-03-08 90+ → 80+ down after 155 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 80+ → 90+ up
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).
-
WebberZone Link Warnings 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A -
External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A - E External Links 8K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag D
-
External Links Overview 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag C -
Open Links In New Tab 800+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Traction External Links Speed Bump into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/traction-external-links-speed-bump" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Traction External Links Speed Bump — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Traction External Links Speed Bump: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/traction-external-links-speed-bump
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