As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages that display on your sidebar area as a blogroll.
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 blogroll using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will then display on your blog once you add the Links widget.
Before the release of WordPress v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Links Manager displayed in the WordPress admin menu until the release of WordPress v.3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you have 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 item is not visible when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add it via a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Links Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the step-by-step instructions below:
In the WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after it has been installed …
After activation, WordPress adds a ‘Links’ section to your navigation menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before you start adding any new links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter here will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories screen)
The new category will be added to the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Edit the link category)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as your site needs.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add New Links
To create a new link, go to the dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link. This allows your visitors to access the link information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Brian Fields and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some sites and search engines that use this information.
rel – This field lets you specify the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute specifies what relationship exists 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, index, start, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 link’s RSS feed can display next to your 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).
Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser. The Links table displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional options in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Links page – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Links
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links page …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing links)
Make the changes you want to the link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete a link, select Links > All Links in your admin menu …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all of your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check boxes next to individual links that you would like to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion notice)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display your links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your dashboard menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page 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 it to one of the active widget areas and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …
(Drag & drop the links widget to add it to your widget bar)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and display link categories on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
After setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links will now display on your website …
(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 help using widgets? We have written a detailed article on using widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, sort, and filter functionality.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Finding Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Searching links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your site, or if you want to add a page containing a list of links 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)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you display a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library creates a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for these categories. 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 link collection 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 your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article on adding links in WordPress. Go here to learn more:
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group