As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external websites or blogs that display on your sidebar menu.
According to official WordPress documentation …
“The term ‘blogroll’ was originally used because it was a list of links to other blogs, but you can include links to any sites.”
You can add a set of links using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will display on your sidebar or footer if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(Links – included in the WordPress dashboard menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – excluded from WordPress after WP v3.5)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it.
How To Add A Link Section To WordPress
You can add a link section to your sidebar menu by creating a custom menu, or use a plugin like the one shown in the tutorial below.
If the Links menu section is not displayed when you log into your WP admin area, you can add this feature via a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
You can use this plugin to restore the Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use the Link Manager plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
In your WP dashboard area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed on the sidebar menu screen …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before you start adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to your navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories screen)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name (remember to keep the slug in lowercase letters and replace all spaces with a hyphen), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process and add as many different link categories as your site requires.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can being adding your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to the WP dashboard menu and choose Links > Add New …
(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description – Add New Link page)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: What you type here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name with their mouse.
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new web browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the link information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new site or page will load in your web browser window instead.
- _top opens links at the top level of the frame system if you’re using frames. Ignore this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Bessie Silva and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all your links will still work. XFN makes your links more understandable to some websites and search engines that use this information.
rel – This field specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute defines the relationship between the current document and the linked document. For example, if you don’t want search engines to follow your link, type nofollow into this field. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL and make sure that your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link will be displayed next to the links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
- Rating: You can add a rating score to the link if you want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by checking the box)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, go to the dashboard menu and select Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view or hide columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Display/hide fields on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify links, select Links > All Links in the main navigation menu to bring up the links screen …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing link information)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to your admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display your links on your site.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP admin menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your active widget bars and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to your WordPress widget bar)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This allows you to create and feature several link sections throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will now display on your website’s sidebar …
(An example of how links can be displayed on your site’s sidebar)
As the above example shows, you can display specific links to your site visitors (e.g. a list for a specific link category only), and add multiple lists of links to your sidebar menu.
Need more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article on adding widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filter, sort, and search functions.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Finding Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Search links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, or if you intend to add a ‘Links’ page to your site (i.e. not just add links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, and all links listed in these categories. Additionally, you can select a sub-set of categories to display or not display, show only one category at a time, display a search box and find results based on visitor queries, display a form to accept user submissions that can be moderated by a site administrator, and even generate an RSS feed of your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in WordPress.
Go here if you would like to learn more about how to easily insert HTML links into your WordPress content:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)