What Is rel="noopener" in WordPress?

If you’ve used WordPress, at some point, you may have come across rel=”noopener” when adding links to your website’s content. When handling links pointing inside as well as outside of your site, this type of link might be confusing. In this article, you’ll learn about what is rel=”noopener” in WordPress.

To explain, rel="noopener" is an attribute value used in HTML, particularly when creating hyperlinks or anchor tags ( tags), to improve security and performance when opening links in a new browser tab or window.

To clarify a bit, rel="noopener”, it helps to break down the context in which it is used and why it is important.

Context: The target="_blank" Vulnerability

When you create a hyperlink with the target="_blank" attribute, the browser opens the link in a new tab or window. This is a common practice to ensure users don’t lose their place on your site when they click on an external link. However, using target="_blank" introduces a security risk known as the "reverse tabnabbing" vulnerability.

When reverse tabnabbing happens, a new tab is opened via target="_blank", the new page or the destination page, that can access the original page’s window.opener object. This object allows the new page to control the original page. In a malicious scenario, the new page could potentially redirect the original page to a phishing site or perform other harmful actions, compromising the security of the original site.

The Role of rel="noopener"

To deter this vulnerability, developers use the rel="noopener" attribute. When rel="noopener" is added to a link, it instructs the browser to create a new, independent browsing context for the opened page. This means that the new tab cannot access the window.opener object of the original page, effectively cutting off any potential malicious interactions between the two.

Performance Benefits rel="noopener

In addition to the security enhancements, rel="noopener" can improve performance. Without rel="noopener", the original page remains tied to the newly opened page through the window.opener reference. This connection can consume memory and resources, as both pages are kept in sync. By adding rel="noopener", the browser treats the two pages as entirely separate, freeing up resources and leading to better performance, especially in memory-constrained environments.

Common Usage of rel="noopener

You will often see rel="noopener" used in conjunction with target="_blank", like this:

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

Is using rel=”noopener” good for SEO?

Using rel="noopener" is primarily a security and performance feature, and it does not directly impact SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in most cases. However, it can have indirect effects on the user experience, site performance, and, consequently, SEO rankings. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the pros and cons of using rel="noopener" from an SEO perspective:

Pros of Using rel="noopener" for SEO

If you're considering on using the rel=”noopener” when you’re adding link into your WordPress content, here are some of the pros:

Enhanced Security and User Trust

One of the main reasons to use rel="noopener" is to prevent "reverse tabnabbing," a security vulnerability where a malicious site could manipulate the originating page after a user clicks on a link. If your website is secure and provides a good user experience, users are more likely to trust your site, which can lead to higher engagement, lower bounce rates, and increased returning visitors — all factors that indirectly support SEO.

Improved Performance and Load Times

By using rel="noopener", you separate the original page from the newly opened page, preventing them from being linked via the window.opener object. This separation frees up browser memory and resources, potentially leading to faster page load times. Faster sites tend to rank better in search engine results because search engines, such as Google, consider page speed a significant ranking factor, especially with the introduction of Core Web Vitals as a performance metric.

Better User Experience (UX)

Good user experience is crucial for SEO. If a site is slow or feels clunky because it’s using too many resources (such as maintaining the window.opener link), users may become frustrated and leave the site prematurely. High bounce rates and low engagement can signal to search engines that your site isn’t providing value, which could harm your rankings. Using rel="noopener" helps enhance user experience (UX) by making your site more responsive.

Compliance with Best Practices

Google and other major browsers prioritize security, and they favor sites that follow modern web development](https://verpex.com/blog/website-tips/microservices-in-web-development) best practices. Using rel="noopener" demonstrates that you're considering security for your users, which indirectly can affect how your site is perceived. In particular, security-conscious users may be more likely to engage with your content and share your site, leading to better SEO outcomes.

Cons of Using rel="noopener" for SEO

Not sure about using rel=”noopener”, then here are also some possible downsides to using it:

No Direct Impact on SEO Rankings

The primary downside, or perhaps neutral point, of using rel="noopener" is that it doesn’t directly affect your site’s SEO ranking. Google and other search engines do not treat rel="noopener" as a ranking signal the way they do with rel="nofollow", rel="canonical", or other similar attributes. Essentially, rel="noopener" won’t inherently make your site rank higher or lower in search results based purely on its presence.

Potentially Confused with rel="nofollow"

Some developers may mistakenly think that rel="noopener" affects link equity (the passing of ""link juice"" or ranking power between sites), similar to rel="nofollow". This confusion could lead to misunderstanding of the attribute. The reality is that rel="noopener" does not affect how search engines view the relationship between the linked pages for SEO purposes. The link will still pass ranking signals if it’s a dofollow link.

Lack of Immediate Tangible SEO Gains

Because the SEO benefits of rel="noopener" are indirect and rooted in security and performance, the impact may not be immediately noticeable. Site owners looking for quick SEO wins might overlook it, especially since its primary function is not SEO-specific.

In WordPress, rel="noopener" is an HTML attribute automatically added to links that open in a new tab or window using the target="_blank" attribute.

WordPress added rel="noopener" in version 4.7.4 (April 2017)to improve security by preventing reverse tabnabbing attacks and enhancing performance.

Since this update, whenever a WordPress user creates a link in the WordPress editor (Gutenberg or Classic Editor) and selects the option to open the link in a new tab, WordPress automatically adds the rel="noopener" attribute to the link's HTML code. This change is applied without the need for user intervention, ensuring that all outbound links opened in a new tab are secure by default.

The purpose of rel="noopener" is to enhance security by preventing a vulnerability known as "reverse tabnabbing”. When a user clicks on a link with target="_blank", the new page can access the original page's window context via the window.opener object, which can be exploited for malicious purposes. The rel="noopener" attribute breaks this link between the two pages, ensuring that the newly opened page cannot manipulate or control the original one.

With rel="noopener", it offers significant advantages in terms of security, performance, and user experience, all of which can indirectly influence SEO in a positive way. However, it doesn’t directly impact SEO rankings like other HTML attributes such as rel="nofollow". The key takeaway is that while rel="noopener" won’t directly move your site up in search rankings, it contributes to creating a safer, faster, and more user-friendly web experience — all of which are important factors that ultimately support better SEO performance.

Thus, using rel="noopener" in WordPress, it is generally considered a good practice, especially when balancing security and user experience, both of which indirectly benefit SEO.