Control WooCommerce External Product Link Targets

As a WooCommerce migration expert and community analyst, I frequently encounter scenarios where store owners seek greater control over their e-commerce functionality. A recent discussion on the WordPress support forum, titled “Feature Request: Control External Product Link Target,” perfectly encapsulates a common pain point: the default behavior of external product links opening in a new tab.

Understanding the WooCommerce External Product Link Dilemma

The forum topic highlights a specific challenge with WooCommerce’s External/Affiliate product type. By default, when a user clicks the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Product” button for an external product, the associated URL opens in a new browser tab. While this behavior is generally beneficial for affiliate links, ensuring the user remains on your site while also visiting the external merchant, it becomes problematic for internal links.

The “New Tab” Conundrum for Internal Destinations

The core of the issue, as articulated by the forum user, arises when an external product link actually points to an internal destination on the same website. Common examples include:

Booking Forms: Products that link directly to a booking system or calendar on your own domain.
Registration Pages: Items that require users to sign up or register through an internal form.
Detailed Information Pages: Specific content within your site that provides more context before purchase.

In these cases, forcing the link to open in a new tab creates an unnecessary and often confusing user experience. Users might find themselves with multiple tabs of the same website open, disrupting their flow and potentially increasing bounce rates. The forum user’s request for a simple checkbox “Open product link in a new tab” beneath the Product URL field is a clear indicator of this widespread need for granular control.

Addressing the Feature Gap: Current Solutions

While the proposed checkbox feature would undeniably streamline the process, WooCommerce currently lacks this built-in option. Store owners and developers are left to implement custom solutions. Fortunately, with a bit of code, you can achieve the desired control over external product link targets.

Solution: Modifying Link Behavior with Custom Code

The most robust and recommended approach involves adding custom code to your theme’s functions.php file or, ideally, to a custom plugin. This method allows you to filter the output of the external product button and remove the target="_blank" attribute when needed.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Control External Product Link Target:

Access Your Theme Files: Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Appearance > Theme File Editor. Alternatively, use an FTP client or your hosting’s file manager to access your WordPress installation.
Locate functions.php: In the Theme File Editor, select your active child theme (if you’re using one, which is highly recommended for customizations). Find and click on the functions.php file in the theme files list on the right. If you’re using FTP, navigate to wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/ and find functions.php.

Add the Custom Code: Paste one of the following code snippets at the end of your functions.php file, ensuring it’s not placed within another function and ideally before the closing ?> tag (if it exists).

Option 1: Remove “New Tab” for ALL External Products (Use with Caution):


/**
 * Remove target="_blank" from all WooCommerce external product links.
 * Use this if you want ALL external products to open in the same tab.
 */
function custom_remove_external_product_target_blank( $link ) {
    return str_replace( 'target="_blank"', '', $link );
}
add_filter( 'woocommerce_loop_add_to_cart_link', 'custom_remove_external_product_target_blank', 10, 1 );

Option 2: Remove “New Tab” for Specific External Products (Recommended for Precision):

This snippet allows you to specify product IDs for which the link should open in the same tab. Replace array( 123, 456, 789 ) with the actual IDs of your external products.


/**
 * Conditionally remove target="_blank" from specific WooCommerce external product links.
 * Modify the $product_ids_to_modify array with your desired product IDs.
 */
function custom_conditional_remove_external_product_target_blank( $link, $product ) {
    // Define an array of product IDs for which to remove target="_blank"
    $product_ids_to_modify = array( 123, 456, 789 ); // <-- REPLACE WITH YOUR PRODUCT IDs

    // Check if the current product is an external product and its ID is in our list
    if ( $product->is_type( 'external' ) && in_array( $product->get_id(), $product_ids_to_modify ) ) {
        $link = str_replace( 'target="_blank"', '', $link );
    }
    return $link;
}
add_filter( 'woocommerce_loop_add_to_cart_link', 'custom_conditional_remove_external_product_target_blank', 10, 2 );

How to find Product IDs: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Products > All Products. Hover over the product title, and you’ll see the ID appear below the title or in the browser’s status bar.

Save Changes: After pasting the code, click the “Update File” button (or save your functions.php file if using FTP).
Test Thoroughly: Visit your external product pages to ensure the links now behave as expected – opening in the same tab for the specified products, and in a new tab for others (if using the conditional option).

Why a Custom Plugin is Better

While adding code to functions.php works, creating a small custom plugin for such modifications is a best practice. This ensures your customizations persist even if you change themes, and it keeps your theme’s functions.php cleaner. If you’re not comfortable creating a plugin, a child theme’s functions.php is the next best option to prevent updates from overwriting your changes.

The Importance of User Experience and SEO

This seemingly minor detail – whether a link opens in a new tab – has significant implications for both user experience (UX) and search engine optimization (SEO).

Improved UX: Users appreciate predictable navigation. When an internal link unexpectedly opens a new tab, it can be disorienting and frustrating, leading to a poorer experience.
Reduced Bounce Rate: Keeping users within the same tab for internal navigation can encourage them to explore more of your site, potentially reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement.
SEO Considerations: While not a direct ranking factor, a positive user experience contributes to better site metrics (time on site, pages per session), which indirectly signals quality to search engines.

Conclusion: A Call for Core Feature Enhancement

The forum discussion underscores a genuine need for WooCommerce to provide a built-in, user-friendly option to control external product link targets. Until such a feature is integrated into the core, store owners and developers can confidently implement the provided custom code solutions to tailor their site’s behavior. By taking control of these link targets, you not only address a common functional gap but also significantly enhance your customers’ journey, making your WooCommerce store more intuitive and effective.

WooCommerce External Product Links: Mastering Target Behavior for Enhanced UX