rel="external" is now the XHTML valid version that informs search engine spiders that the link is external. However, using this does not open the link in a new window. target="_blank" and target="_new" does this, but is not XHTML valid.
This very simple plugin adds a small JS file to your header to let this happen!
You can install this in 2 easy steps without any need for configuration:
- Upload the whole plugin folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
- Go to the Plugins page and activate the plugin!
You can also visit the
rel="external" plugin page. You also have a setting to call the JS inline or as an external file - it's up to you!