As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to external websites or pages displayed on your sidebar section.
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.”
The Links Manager lets you add and manage external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar section (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using widgets.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager feature was part of the dashboard menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – excluded from the WordPress menu after WP v 3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not be displayed on your menu.
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 admin area, you can add it via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin displays the built-in Links menu on your WP dashboard, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the plugin had not been updated for a while, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use this plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP dashboard area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “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 installing it …
After activation, WordPress will add a ‘Links’ item to your navigation menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Setup
Before adding new links, we recommend setting 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 link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the URL of the link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
When finished, click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to site visitors. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category name)
Change 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 Update Link Category …
(Editing the default link category name)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Special Deals’ etc).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process and add as many new link categories as your site needs.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, go to your dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section is where you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description – Add New Link)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link. Your visitor can access the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Bessie Jenkins and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and your links will work just fine. 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 defines 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, index, start, help, 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 leave the fields in this section empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced area – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL and make sure that the 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 the link.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 blank, as these fields are not essential.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, go to your WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your browser. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To show or hide fields in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify links in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the WP admin menu to bring up the links page …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your link information)
Change your link information …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your table of links …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To remove a link, choose Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting your 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 checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your links will be removed …
(Link deletion notification)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to make links display on your website.
Using The Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP admin menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ screen in your browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in 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 to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag and drop)
The Links widget includes various options. For example, you can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to add and display link lists throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category to display a specific list of items …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
When you have finished setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will show on your website …
(An example of how links can be displayed on a 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 using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on using widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sort, search, and filter features.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can sort your links)
Searching Links Function
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(You can search links using the search function)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by link 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your site, or if you intend to add a page containing a list of links to your site (i.e. not just add a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin lets you output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your website that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus all links defined for 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 additions to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress site.
If you want to learn more about how to easily create links in WordPress, see this article:
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now