How to Link a WordPress Title to an External URL

There may be a number of reasons why you’d want the title of your post to link to an external URL. Let’s say, for example, that you let people buy advertising on your site that looks somewhat like an actual post.

That’s what Yahoo does. Take a look below. See that “article” with the yellow background? That’s actually an ad that goes offsite when you click the title.

Now, Yahoo does this with Adsense. And while Google probably doesn’t think highly enough of you to give you that kind of flexibility (they have different rules for different people), you can do your own version.

Plugins

This is really very easy to do, and you have a lot of options at your disposal. All you need is some type of redirection plugin. You could go to the WordPress Plugin Directory and find many, but I’ll go ahead and recommend three below–each slightly different from the next.

Page to Links

This is a very simple plugin that will get the job done without any complications whatsoever. Somewhere below your post editing screen, you should see an option to direct that post to another page/site. It really is as simple as the screenshot below.

Quick Page/Post Redirect Plugin

If you’re looking for a more general-purpose redirection plugin that will allow you to do a number of things (more than just simply redirect a post), then this one is an option for you. It will give you a number of controls that we won’t go into here, but the redirection of one post is still pretty simple. As with the other plugin above, somewhere below your editing screen, you should see a box like the following.

Pretty Link Lite

The final option is Pretty Link Lite. This plugin is different in that it will let you track your links and see how many times they were clicked. It’s easy to see how that can be valuable information in a variety of scenarios. This one isn’t quite as convenient in that you’ll need to go to a different section in your admin area to set up your links, but the added value of tracking those links will surely be worth it for some.

A Plugin to Make an Ad

And finally, just because we mentioned it as a possible reason to want such a function as linking your title offsite, there is a plugin called Post Backgrounds that will let you make your post background a different color. Or you might put a background image in the post with some type of graphic that indicates it’s an ad.

This is a very basic plugin, and there may be others out there that suit your needs better, but we thought we’d throw it into the mix.

And that’s it. Given all the redirection plugins on the market, getting titles to link to different content is really pretty simple. Just pick one and let it rip.

Photo credit: kris krug