Managing links properly is crucial for your website’s SEO and user experience. However, if you’re using WordPress’s Classic Editor and want to add custom attributes like classes, IDs, nofollow tags, or check if your links are broken, you need the right tool. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to add link attributes in WordPress without touching any code.

Table of Contents
You can read this content in your language:

Link attributes are additional properties you can add to hyperlinks to control their behavior and appearance. In other words, think of them as settings for your links that tell browsers and search engines how to handle them.

The most common link attributes include:

  • Class: Applies custom styling to make your link look different (like a button)
  • ID: Creates a unique identifier for targeting specific links
  • Title: Shows helpful tooltip text when users hover over the link
  • Rel: Controls how search engines treat the link (nofollow, noreferrer, noopener)
  • Target: Opens links in new tabs instead of the current window
  • Download: Forces browsers to download files instead of opening them

Without these attributes, you’re missing out on important SEO opportunities. Furthermore, you can’t fully control how your links work.

The Problem with WordPress’s Default Link Editor

WordPress’s built-in link editor is extremely basic. In fact, it only lets you:

  • Add a URL
  • Type link text
  • Choose whether to open in a new tab

That’s it. Unfortunately, if you want to add CSS classes, nofollow tags, custom IDs, or check if your links are broken, you’re completely stuck. Moreover, the Gutenberg block editor has similar limitations, leaving users frustrated when they need more control.

The Extend Link Plugin transforms WordPress’s simple link editor into a powerful tool that gives you complete control over your link attributes. Best of all, it’s completely free and works seamlessly with both the Classic Editor and Classic Block in Gutenberg.