What Is rel="noopener" in WordPress? The Ultimate Guide for 2024

Hey there, WordPress user! If you‘ve been poking around your site‘s link settings, you may have come across a mysterious little attribute called rel="noopener". Maybe you brushed it off as just another piece of technical jargon. But let me tell you, this tiny bit of code packs a big punch when it comes to your site‘s security.

In this ultimate guide, I‘m going to demystify rel="noopener" for you. By the end, you‘ll know exactly what it does, why it‘s important, and how to make sure your WordPress site is using it correctly. So grab a cup of coffee and let‘s dive in!

What Does rel="noopener" Actually Do?

In a nutshell, rel="noopener" is all about protecting your site and your users from sneaky cross-site hacking attempts. It‘s an HTML attribute that WordPress automatically adds to any link you set to open in a new tab or window.

Here‘s what that looks like in the code:

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Example Link</a>

Now, I know you‘re probably thinking "Great, but what does it actually DO?" Fair question! Let‘s break it down.

Whenever a user clicks a link on your site that opens in a new tab, that new tab has access to something called the window.opener object by default. This object has a direct line of communication back to the original tab — the one on your site.

Can you spot the problem? If a hacker can trick one of your users into clicking a link to their own malicious site, they could potentially use that window.opener connection to control the original tab on your site. They could sneakily redirect the user, steal data entered on your site, or even spread malware. Yikes.

That‘s where our friend rel="noopener" comes in. When you add this attribute to a link, it effectively severs that window.opener connection. The new tab opened by the link is isolated and can‘t communicate back to the original tab. Cross-site hacking crisis averted!

How Common Are Cross-Site Hacking Attempts?

You might be thinking, "Okay, but what are the chances of my little WordPress site actually being targeted by one of these hacks?" Well, I‘ve got some stats for you:

Source: Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Report 2023

Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, which exploit vulnerabilities like the window.opener issue, are incredibly common. In fact, they‘re consistently ranked as one of the top website security risks year after year.

So while your WordPress site might seem like a small fish in a big pond, it‘s still a very real target. Hackers use automated scripts to scan massive numbers of sites for vulnerabilities they can exploit. It‘s not personal – your site is just one of many potential victims.

The good news is that rel="noopener" is a simple but effective way to protect against these types of attacks. And since WordPress adds it automatically in most cases, you‘re probably already benefiting from its protection.

How to Implement rel="noopener" on Your WordPress Site

Now that you know how important rel="noopener" is, let‘s talk about how to make sure it‘s implemented correctly on your WordPress site.

The Default Way: Let WordPress Handle It

In the vast majority of cases, you don‘t need to do a thing! WordPress is smart enough to automatically add rel="noopener" to any link you create through the link menu that‘s set to open in a new tab.

So if you stick to using the WordPress editor‘s built-in linking tools, rel="noopener" will be applied for you. Easy peasy.

The Manual Way: Adding rel="noopener" to HTML Links

If you find yourself manually adding HTML links to your WordPress content, it‘s important to remember to include the rel="noopener" attribute if you‘re using target="_blank" to open the link in a new tab.

Here‘s what a properly secured HTML link looks like:

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Example Link</a>

A few key things to note:

• Always include target="_blank" if you want the link to open in a new tab. This is what triggers the security vulnerability that rel="noopener" protects against.
• Add rel="noopener" to neutralize the window.opener issue and prevent cross-site hacking.
• I also recommend adding rel="noreferrer" alongside rel="noopener". This will prevent the original page‘s URL from being passed to the new tab in the HTTP referrer header, adding an extra layer of privacy.

The Plugin Way: Using WordPress Link Management Tools

If you regularly work with HTML links and want some extra help managing their attributes, there are some handy WordPress plugins that can help.

One of my favorites is WP External Links. It‘s a free plugin that automatically adds rel="noopener" and other security and performance attributes to your external links. It also lets you control which attributes are added on a global or per-link basis.

AIOSEO is another great option. While it‘s primarily an SEO plugin, it also has some slick linking features built in. It adds little checkboxes in your WordPress link editor to toggle attributes like nofollow, sponsored, and UGC links. Plus, it can automatically set external links to open in new tabs and apply rel="noopener" sitewide.

Both these plugins give you a bit more control and can save you some manual HTML fiddling. Definitely worth checking out if you‘re a linking power user.

WordPress Linking Best Practices for 2024 & Beyond

Of course, rel="noopener" is just one small piece of the bigger WordPress linking puzzle. While I‘ve got you here, let me share a few other linking best practices to keep in mind:

1. Always use descriptive anchor text

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a link. It‘s a key signal to users and search engines about what they can expect to find at the other end of that link. So whenever possible, use clear, descriptive anchor text rather than generic phrases like "click here".

For example, instead of:

To learn more about WordPress security, <a href="https://example.com/wordpress-security">click here</a>.

Try:

<a href="https://example.com/wordpress-security">Learn more about WordPress security</a> in our comprehensive guide.

2. Audit your site for broken links regularly

Over time, the URLs you‘ve linked to might change or disappear, resulting in broken links on your site. Not only is this frustrating for users, it can also hurt your SEO.

I recommend using a tool like Ahrefs‘ Site Audit or Screaming Frog SEO Spider to scan your site for broken links on a regular basis. If you‘re on a budget, the free Broken Link Checker WordPress plugin can also get the job done.

Aim to audit your links at least once a quarter and fix any broken ones you find. Your users (and search rankings) will thank you!

3. Don‘t fear outbound links

Some WordPress site owners are hesitant to link out to other sites for fear of "leaking" traffic or authority. Don‘t fall into this trap!

Linking out to relevant, high-quality resources can actually be beneficial in several ways:

• It provides additional value to your readers
• It can help you build relationships with other sites in your niche
• It can even improve your own search rankings by showing that you‘re a "hub" of quality information

Google has confirmed that they don‘t penalize sites for outbound links. As long as you‘re linking to reputable sites that are relevant to your content, you‘ve got nothing to worry about. In fact, many SEO experts believe that relevant outbound links are a positive ranking factor.

4. Keep an eye on your internal link structure

Internal links – links from one page on your site to another – are a crucial part of SEO and can have a big impact on how well your content performs in search.

Some WordPress users make the mistake of only adding internal links to their navigation or sidebar. But it‘s important to also interlink your actual pages and posts contextually.

Here are a few internal linking best practices:

• Link to relevant content whenever it‘s mentioned naturally in your copy
• Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text (but don‘t keyword stuff!)
• Link to "deep" pages, not just top-level pages like your homepage or main categories
• Use a mix of "dofollow" and "nofollow" internal links to help control the flow of link equity through your site

If you want to dive deeper, check out my full guide on WordPress internal linking best practices for SEO. It‘s packed with actionable tips and real examples.

The Bottom Line on rel="noopener"

Phew, that was a lot of info! Let‘s recap the key takeaways about rel="noopener" in WordPress:

• rel="noopener" is an HTML attribute that prevents cross-site hacking attempts by closing a security loophole in how new tabs/windows communicate with the original page
• WordPress automatically adds rel="noopener" when you set a link to open in a new tab using the built-in link tools
• If you manually write HTML links, always include rel="noopener" (and ideally rel="noreferrer") on links that use target="_blank"
• Using rel="noopener" does NOT hurt your site‘s SEO or performance – it‘s strictly a security feature
• Tools like WP External Links or AIOSEO can help you manage rel="noopener" and other link attributes in bulk

I hope this guide has given you a solid understanding of what rel="noopener" is, why it‘s important, and how to use it effectively on your WordPress site. Remember, a little bit of link hygiene can go a long way in keeping your site and your users safe.

Have questions about rel="noopener" or other WordPress linking best practices? Drop me a comment below – I‘m always happy to chat links!