Understanding Link Attributes: Dofollow, Nofollow, Noopener, and Noreferrer- A Complete Guide

In today’s interconnected web landscape, understanding how to properly manage links on your website isn’t just about SEO—it’s about security, privacy, and maintaining control over how your site interacts with others. Whether you’re a developer, content creator, or SEO specialist, mastering link attributes is crucial for building a robust and secure web presence.

The Fundamentals of HTML Links

Before diving into specific attributes, let’s understand what makes up a basic HTML link. At its core, a link connects one web resource to another, but its behavior can be significantly modified through attributes.

A standard HTML link looks like this:

html

<a href="https://example.com">Link Text</a>

When you add attributes, it becomes more complex:

html

Noopener Link Example

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Link Text</a>

Each attribute serves a specific purpose, affecting how:

• Search engines interpret the link
• Browsers handle the connection
• User data is transmitted
• Security measures are implemented

Dofollow Links: The SEO Standard

Dofollow links are the default state of HTML links—you don’t need to add any special attributes to create one. These links are crucial for SEO because they:

• Pass PageRank authority from one page to another
• Help search engines discover and index new pages
• Contribute to the linked site’s search engine rankings
• Signal trust and endorsement of the linked content

When to use dofollow links:

• Internal linking between your own pages
• Linking to high-quality, trusted external resources
• Supporting content partnerships
• Referencing authoritative sources

Best practices for dofollow links:

• Use descriptive anchor text that relates to the linked content
• Ensure the linked content is relevant to your users
• Maintain a natural link profile with varied destinations
• Regular audit of external links to maintain quality

Dofollow Link Example

<a href="https://example.com" rel="dofollow">Example Link</a>

Nofollow Links: Managing SEO Impact

The nofollow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) tells search engines not to pass PageRank or crawl the linked page. It’s implemented like this:

html

Nofollow Link Example

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Link Text</a>

Key situations requiring nofollow links:

1. User-Generated Content:
   • Comment sections
   • Forum posts
   • Social media feeds
   • User profiles
2. Commercial Relationships:
   • Sponsored content
   • Paid advertisements
   • Affiliate links
   • Promotional content
3. Untrusted Content:
   • User-submitted links
   • Dynamic content feeds
   • Low-quality directories
   • Potentially spammy resources

Google’s treatment of nofollow has evolved. Since 2019, they treat it as a “hint” rather than a directive, meaning they may choose to follow some nofollow links for indexing purposes.

Security First: The Noopener Attribute

The noopener attribute (rel=”noopener”) addresses a specific security vulnerability related to window.opener JavaScript functionality. When you open a link in a new tab using target=”_blank”, the new page can access the original page’s window object through window.opener.

Security risks without noopener:

• The linked page can redirect your original page
• Potential for phishing attacks
• Resource consumption affecting performance
• Cross-window scripting vulnerabilities

Implementation example:

html

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

When to use noopener:

• All links opening in new tabs/windows
• External website links
• Third-party content links
• Social media links

Privacy Matters: The Noreferrer Attribute

The noreferrer attribute (rel=”noreferrer”) prevents the browser from sending referrer information to the linked website. This means the destination site won’t know where their traffic came from.

Benefits of using noreferrer:

• Protects user privacy
• Prevents referrer-based analytics tracking
• Maintains confidentiality of internal URLs
• Reduces cross-site information leakage

Implementation:

html

Noreferrer Link Example

<a href="https://example.com" rel="noreferrer">Privacy-Protected Link</a>

Use cases for noreferrer:

• Links to competitor websites
• Privacy-sensitive content
• Internal tools and documents
• Personal information pages

Combining Link Attributes: Best Practices

In many cases, you’ll want to use multiple attributes together for maximum security and control. Here are common combinations and their use cases:

1. Maximum Security for External Links:

html

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

2. Sponsored Content with Security:

html

<a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored noopener">Sponsored Content</a>

3. User-Generated Content:

html

<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">User Comment Link</a>

Impact on Website Performance and Analytics

Link attributes can affect various aspects of your website’s performance and tracking capabilities:

Performance Impacts:

• Minimal effect on page load times
• Potential reduction in crawler bandwidth
• Improved security reduces vulnerability-related slowdowns
• Better control over crawler behavior

Analytics Considerations:

• Noreferrer links won’t show up in destination analytics
• Tracking parameters may need adjustment
• Custom tracking solutions might be necessary
• Alternative attribution methods may be required

Implementation Guide: How to Use Dofollow, Nofollow, Noopener, and Noreferrer Links on WordPress and Shopify

Now that you understand the differences between dofollow, nofollow, noopener, and noreferrer links, it’s time to implement them on your website. Below, we’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions for adding these link attributes on WordPress and Shopify, two of the most popular platforms for website owners and marketers.

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1. WordPress Implementation Guide

WordPress is a highly flexible platform, and adding link attributes can be done either manually or with the help of plugins. Here’s how to do it:

A. Adding Link Attributes Manually in WordPress

1. Edit the Link in the Text Editor:
   • Go to the page or post where you want to add the link.
   • Highlight the text you want to link and click the link icon in the toolbar.
   • Enter the URL and click the gear icon to open the link settings.
2. Add the rel Attribute:
   • Switch to the Text Editor (HTML view) in the WordPress editor.
   • Locate the link you just added. It will look something like this:

<a href="https://example.com">Example Link</a>

Add the desired rel attribute. For example:

Nofollow:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example Link</a>

Noopener:

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

Noreferrer:

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

Combined Attributes:

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

1. Save and Publish:
   • Once you’ve added the attributes, save your changes and publish the post or page.

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B. Using Plugins to Automate Link Attributes in WordPress

If you don’t want to manually edit HTML, you can use plugins to automate the process.

1. Install a Plugin:
   • Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Search for and install a plugin like Title and Nofollow for Links or WP External Links.
2. Configure the Plugin:
   • After installation, go to the plugin’s settings page.
   • Enable options like “Automatically add nofollow to external links” or “Add noopener and noreferrer to external links.”
3. Test the Links:
   • Create a test post with external links and check the source code to ensure the attributes are added correctly.

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C. Adding Link Attributes in WordPress Themes

If you want to add link attributes globally (e.g., for all external links), you can modify your theme’s functions.php file.

1. Access the Theme Editor:
   • Go to Appearance > Theme Editor in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Select the functions.php file from the list on the right.
2. Add Custom Code:
   • Insert the following code to automatically add noopener and noreferrer to all external links:

function add_noopener_noreferrer_to_external_links($content) {
    if (!is_string($content)) {
        return $content;
    }

    // Get the site's domain for comparison
    $site_domain = parse_url(get_site_url(), PHP_URL_HOST);
    
    return preg_replace_callback('/<a\s(?:[^>]*?\s)?href=(["\'])(https?:\/\/[^"\']+)\1[^>]*>/i', 
        function($matches) use ($site_domain) {
            $full_link = $matches[0];
            $link_url = $matches[2];
            
            // Check if it's an external link
            $link_domain = parse_url($link_url, PHP_URL_HOST);
            if (!$link_domain || $link_domain === $site_domain) {
                return $full_link;
            }
            
            // Extract existing rel values if present
            $rel_values = [];
            if (preg_match('/rel=(["\'])(.*?)\1/i', $full_link, $rel_matches)) {
                $rel_values = array_filter(explode(' ', $rel_matches[2]));
                // Remove the existing rel attribute
                $full_link = preg_replace('/\srel=(["\']).*?\1/i', '', $full_link);
            }
            
            // Add security attributes
            $rel_values = array_merge($rel_values, ['noopener', 'noreferrer', 'external']);
            $rel_values = array_unique(array_filter($rel_values));
            
            // Insert the new rel attribute before the closing bracket
            return substr_replace(
                $full_link, 
                ' rel="' . implode(' ', $rel_values) . '"', 
                -1, 
                0
            );
        }, 
        $content
    );
}

// Add the filter with a later priority to avoid conflicts
add_filter('the_content', 'add_noopener_noreferrer_to_external_links', 999);

// Optional: Add to other content areas
add_filter('widget_text', 'add_noopener_noreferrer_to_external_links', 999);
add_filter('term_description', 'add_noopener_noreferrer_to_external_links', 999);

• Save the changes.

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2. Shopify Implementation Guide

Shopify is a powerful e-commerce platform, and while it doesn’t offer as much flexibility as WordPress, you can still add link attributes using the following methods.

A. Adding Link Attributes Manually in Shopify

1. Edit the Page or Blog Post:
   • Go to Online Store > Pages or Online Store > Blog Posts in your Shopify admin.
   • Open the page or post where you want to add the link.
2. Switch to HTML Mode:
   • In the editor, click the <> button to switch to HTML mode.
3. Add the Link with Attributes:
   • Insert the link with the desired rel attribute. For example:

Nofollow:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example Link</a>

Noopener:

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

Noreferrer:

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

Combined Attributes:

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

1. Save the Changes:
   • Click Save to apply the changes.

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B. Adding Link Attributes in Shopify Themes

If you want to add link attributes globally (e.g., for all external links in your theme), you’ll need to edit your theme’s code.

1. Access the Theme Code Editor:
   • Go to Online Store > Themes in your Shopify admin.
   • Click Actions > Edit Code for the theme you’re using.
2. Edit the Liquid File:
   • Locate the file where you want to add the attributes (e.g., theme.liquid, article-template.liquid, or product-template.liquid).
   • Find the link you want to modify and add the rel attribute. For example:

<a href="{{ article.url }}" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read More</a>

1. Save the Changes:
   • Click Save to apply the changes.

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C. Using Shopify Apps for Link Attributes

While Shopify doesn’t have specific plugins for link attributes, you can use apps like SEO Manager or Link Whisper to manage your links more effectively.

1. Install an App:
   • Go to the Shopify App Store and search for an SEO or link management app.
   • Install and configure the app according to your needs.
2. Test the Links:
   • Create a test page or blog post with external links and check the source code to ensure the attributes are added correctly.

Best Practices and Common Pitfalls

To maintain an effective link attribute strategy:

Do:

• Regularly audit your links and their attributes
• Use appropriate combinations for different scenarios
• Keep up with security best practices
• Monitor impact on SEO and analytics

Don’t:

• Apply nofollow to all external links
• Forget security attributes on new tab links
• Ignore platform-specific requirements
• Overlook regular maintenance

Technical Reference Table

Attribute	Purpose	Use Case	Common Combinations
Dofollow	Pass authority	Trusted content	N/A (default)
Nofollow	Prevent authority transfer	UGC, ads	noopener, noreferrer
Noopener	Security: Prevent window access	External links	noreferrer
Noreferrer	Privacy: Hide referral data	Sensitive content	noopener

Conclusion

Understanding and properly implementing link attributes is crucial for:

• Maintaining website security
• Protecting user privacy
• Managing SEO effectively
• Controlling resource access

Take these steps to improve your link management:

1. Audit your current link structure
2. Implement appropriate attributes based on content type
3. Regular review and updates of link policies
4. Monitor impact on security and SEO

Remember that link attributes are not just technical implementations—they’re essential tools for building a secure, privacy-respecting, and SEO-friendly website. Stay informed about evolving standards and best practices to ensure your link strategy remains effective and current.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need noopener on internal links? 

A: No, noopener is primarily for external links opening in new tabs.

Q: Will nofollow links hurt my SEO? 

A: No, using nofollow appropriately is part of a healthy link profile.

Q: Can I use multiple rel attributes? 

A: Yes, combine them with spaces: rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”.

Q: Should all external links be nofollow? 

A: No, use nofollow selectively based on trust and relationship type.

Q: How do I check if my links have the correct attributes?

A: Use browser developer tools or SEO tools like Ahrefs to analyze your links.

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