As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar is often referred to 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.”
The Links Manager lets you easily add a links section to your sidebar menu (e.g. a “Recommended Resources” section) using widgets.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Link Manager section was kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Feature – pre v3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager)
If your blog had the Links Manager installed, then it will still be available when your installation upgrades to a newer version. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – you will not see it on your dashboard 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add it via a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
Use this plugin to display the default Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation in order to restore the hidden feature. The last time we checked, this plugin had not been updated for a while, 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)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
In your WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”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, WordPress will add a ‘Links’ item to your WP navigation menu …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Setup
Before you start adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your admin menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories)
The new category will be added to the list …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding a new link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this default link category name to something that will make sense to site visitors. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the 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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(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 now add a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as your site requires.
After setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the WP navigation menu …
(Links – Add New)
This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(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 is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter details about your link …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the web address 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name with their mouse.
Categories & Target
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.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate web browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. Your visitor will be able to see the link information without leaving your website
- _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 browser window instead.
- _top opens links at the top level of the frame system if you’re using frames. Don’t worry about 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 …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Adam Anderson 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 your links will still work. XFN makes your links 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 the relationship between the current document and the linked document. For example, if you don’t want search engines to follow your link, enter nofollow into this field. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, start, index, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced area)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- 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 be displayed next to your links.
- 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 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 the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added, select Links > All Links in your admin menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your web browser. The Links screen displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To display additional information in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links page)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to the dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up the list of links …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
Removing Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the WP dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up 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 sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like the links section to show up …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
The Links widget offers various settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget settings)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to add and feature several link sections on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display links for a specific category …
(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 settings – Sorting options)
When you have finished configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section should now be visible on your sidebar …
(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 with widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on adding widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with searching, sorting, and filtering functionality.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Search Links Function
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Search links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering links by link category)
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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website or blog, 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links plus descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links area, and 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 for your links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to WordPress.
To learn more about adding links to WordPress, refer to this article:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)