Taking charge of the finer details of your website can be incredibly rewarding. It’s how you elevate a basic site into a polished, professional presence.
A prime example is learning how to incorporate nofollow links into your WordPress navigation menus. This minor adjustment can significantly benefit your site’s SEO.
Many believe this process involves coding or a specific plugin. However, all you need to do is find a simple checkbox that is readily available.
Our goal is to equip you with this valuable knowledge. This is a skill you will find useful repeatedly.
In just a few minutes, you will master this technique. Let’s enhance your WordPress skill set with this powerful trick.
Why Should You Add Nofollow Links to WordPress Navigation Menus?
If you manage a WordPress website, you might want to include a nofollow tag when creating links to external sites. This tag tells search engines not to pass any SEO value, or ‘link juice,’ from your page to the external site you’re linking to.
When you link to an external website, search engines view this as a ranking signal and will transfer a portion of your authority to that site. As a best practice in SEO, you should apply nofollow to all external links that you do not fully trust.
You accomplish this by adding the rel="nofollow"add the rel attribute to the link like this:
We have discovered that incorporating the nofollow attribute can help you control the distribution of your site’s SEO authority. For more information, check out our guide on how to implement nofollow links in WordPress.
Initially, adding nofollow links to your navigation menu might seem challenging, but our experience indicates that the benefits are definitely worth the effort.
In this article, we will guide you through the process of adding nofollow links to your WordPress navigation menus without relying on plugins.
We will explore two methods. The second method is intended for users of WordPress 5.9 or later who are using a theme compatible with the theme editor:
- Method 1: Adding Nofollow Links Using the WordPress Menu Editor
- Method 2: Adding Nofollow Links Using the WordPress Theme Editor
- Bonus: How to Add a Title Attribute in WordPress Navigation Menus
- Common Questions About Nofollow Links in Menus
Method 1: Adding Nofollow Links Using the WordPress Menu Editor
This method is suitable for those using an older WordPress theme that includes a theme customizer with a separate tab for menus.
To begin, navigate to the Appearance » Menus section in your WordPress admin sidebar.
First, add the external link to your WordPress navigation menu just like you would with any custom link.
To do this, click on the ‘Custom Links’ tab to access the URL and Link Text fields. Enter the URL and link text for the website you want to link to.
Then, click the ‘Add to Menu’ button to include the external link in the ‘Menu structure’ column.
Next, to add the nofollow attribute to the link, click the downward arrow next to the menu entry, as shown in the screenshot above.
Here, you will see the details of the external link you just added, including the URL and navigation label.
If the Link Target and Link Relationship options are not visible, you will need to enable them.
To display those options, click the ‘Screen Options’ button located at the top right corner of the screen.
Afterward, check the boxes next to the Link Target and Link Relationship (XFN) options.
Now, scroll back down to your expanded menu item, where you will find two new options.
Next, simply enter nofollow in the link relationship field.
We recommend checking the ‘Open link in a new tab’ option when adding an external link. This enhances user engagement and helps keep visitors on your WordPress site.
Finally, click the ‘Save Menu’ button to apply your changes.
You can now preview your website to view the newly added nofollow menu item.
Let’s ensure that the nofollow attribute has been successfully added to the link.
Simply right-click the new link and choose ‘Inspect’. Your browser will split into two panels.
In the lower panel, you will see the HTML source for your link, which will show the nofollow attribute associated with it.
Method 2: Adding Nofollow Links via the WordPress Theme Editor
This method is intended for users of WordPress 5.9 or later who have a block theme that supports the full site editor.
In this case, the Appearance » Menus section will not be accessible. Instead, navigate to the Appearance » Editor section in your WordPress dashboard.
This will launch the WordPress full site theme editor on your screen.
Adding a New Link to the Navigation Menu
To add a new menu item, click the ‘Add Block’ (+) button located in the top left corner of your screen.
This will display the block menu. Scroll down to find the Custom Link block, then drag it into your navigation menu.
You can now enter or paste the URL. If desired, toggle the ‘Open in new tab’ option to have the link open in a new window. Finally, click the ‘Submit’ icon at the top right of the popup to save the menu item’s settings.
The link URL will be added to the menu, but it’s best to use a more descriptive name, such as the website’s name. Simply start typing to rename the menu item.
How to Add the Nofollow Attribute to a Link
To add the nofollow attribute to a menu item, click on the item, and a toolbar will appear.
Next, click the link icon on the toolbar. In the settings pane on the right, enter the nofollow attribute in the link relationship (‘Link rel’) field.
You can also add a description and title for the link, and rearrange the menu items using the arrow icons on the toolbar.
After completing your changes, click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the screen. Your new custom link will be added, and you can visit your website to see the updated navigation menu.
Bonus: How to Add a Title Attribute in WordPress Navigation Menus
In addition to using nofollow, you can also include a title attribute for the links in your navigation menu.
This HTML attribute provides additional information about an element, such as pages, posts, or external links. Including a title attribute can enhance your site’s SEO by offering more content for search engines.
To add this attribute, navigate to the Appearance » Menus page and click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top. From there, simply check the ‘Title Attribute’ option.
Next, scroll down and click on a menu item in the right section to expand its settings.
You will now see a ‘Title Attribute’ field where you can enter a title of your choice. Once you have finished, click the ‘Save Menu’ button to apply your changes.
For additional guidance, check out our tutorial on adding title attributes in WordPress navigation menus.
Common Questions About Nofollow Links in Menus
We have assisted thousands of users in mastering the complexities of WordPress. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the addition of nofollow links to navigation menus.
1. Why should I include nofollow links in my navigation menu?
You should incorporate nofollow links for any external websites in your menu that you do not completely trust, as well as for promotional or affiliate links. This instructs search engines not to transfer your site’s SEO authority to those external sites, allowing you to maintain better control over your site’s overall SEO performance.
2. Is a plugin necessary to add nofollow links to my menus?
No, a plugin is not required. WordPress includes a built-in option to add nofollow links to your navigation menus. You simply need to activate the appropriate setting in the ‘Screen Options’ for classic themes or utilize the block settings in the Site Editor for block themes.
3. Will adding nofollow to a menu link harm my SEO?
On the contrary, properly using the nofollow attribute is considered a best practice for SEO. It allows you to manage the distribution of your website’s authority, ensuring it is not diminished by links to unnecessary or untrustworthy external pages.
4. How can I verify if my menu link is set to nofollow?
To verify this on your website, right-click on the menu link and choose ‘Inspect’ from your browser’s menu. The HTML code displayed will show yourel="nofollow"if it has been successfully added to the link’s code.
5. Should I set external menu links to open in a new tab?
Absolutely! We strongly recommend this practice. Allowing external links to open in a new tab enhances user experience by preventing visitors from leaving your site entirely. They can explore the other website and easily return by closing the new tab.
We hope this guide has helped you understand how to incorporate nofollow links into your WordPress navigation menus. You might also be interested in learning how to add title and nofollow attributes to the link insertion popup in WordPress, or exploring our collection of online content optimization tools for WordPress.
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