Rails link_to helper for external links that open a new tab

external_link_to.md

1. Add the following to app/helpers/application_helper.rb:

  def external_link_to(name = nil, options = nil, html_options = nil, &block)
    opts = { target: '_blank', rel: 'nofollow noopener' }
    if block_given?
      options ||= {}
      options = options.merge(opts)
    else
      html_options ||= {}
      html_options = html_options.merge(opts)
    end
    link_to(name, options, html_options, &block)
  end

2. Use it like so in a view template:

<%= external_link_to 'Github', 'https://github.com/' %>

Or, with html options like a class (also wrapping an image tag):

<%= external_link_to image_tag('github.svg'), 'https://github.com/', class: 'icon-link' %>

More info on the extra link attributes here: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse/audits/noopener