As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.

A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other websites or web 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 links to your WordPress sidebar section (e.g. a “Recommended Resources” section) using widgets.

Before the release of v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of version 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new installations …

Before …

(WP Links Menu – pre v 3.5)

After …

(The Links Manager feature – no longer included in WordPress after WP version 3.5)

If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not appear on the 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 WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn 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

The Link Manager plugin restores the Link Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress 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 this plugin, then use the plugin 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/

Plugin Description

This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

Installing Link Manager

To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow the instructions below:

From the WP dashboard area, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins – Add New)

Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

Locate the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

After activation, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed on your navigation menu …

(WordPress links management menu)

Plugin Setup

We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.

Link Categories

To create a link category, go to the navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.

Type in information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the link category name.
• Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)

after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …

(Link Categories)

Your new category will now show in the list …

(Link Categories screen)

Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. 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 default WordPress link category name to something that will make sense to your blog readers. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …

(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)

To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …

(Quick Edit)

Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …

(Edit the link category)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).

Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …

(You can add/edit your category description)

Enter your link category description field and click Update when finished …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat this process and add as many different link categories as your site needs.

Once you have configured your link categories, you can add your links.

Adding New Links

To add a new link, select Links > Add New in your admin menu …

(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)

The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …

(Add New Link page)

You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …

(Links – 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 …

(Name, Web Address, Description section)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Enter the link category name here.
• Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)

Categories & Target

Select a Category and Target for your link …

(Add New Link – Categories & Target section)

In the Categories section, select a link category you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ 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 you want the link to open when visitors click on it:

• _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a separate window will open up in their browser to display the information associated with the link. Your visitor can access the information without leaving your site
• _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 the link 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 …

(Link Relationship (XFN) fields)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Michael Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some websites 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.

You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields blank unless you have a reason to use them) …

(Advanced link settings)

The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:

• Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an image URL and make sure that the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
• RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link can be displayed next to the links.
• Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
• Rating: Add a rating score to the link if you would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).

Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.

When you are done adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …

(Click on Add Link to save your new link)

Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …

(Make your links private)

Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want the link to display during certain periods and hide it after it’s no longer required) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

To see a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to your WP admin menu and choose Links > All Links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

This brings up the ‘Links’ table. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …

(List of links)

Tip: To view or hide columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …

(Screen Options – List of links)

Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …

(Hide or display – Table of links)

How To Edit Links

To modify links in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your dashboard menu to bring up your links page …

(WP Links – All Links)

Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …

(Editing link information)

Edit your link …

(Edit Link page)

After editing the link, you can:

• Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

Deleting Your Links

To delete links, click on Links > All Links in your WP dashboard menu …

(WP Links – All Links)

This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.

To delete links individually, hover over the link title you want removed and click Delete …

(Deleting links)

To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …

(Deleting multiple links)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …

(Links: bulk-delete function)

Your selected links will be removed …

(links deleted notice)

Using The Plugin

Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links on your site.

Using The Links Widget

Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.

To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in your navigation menu …

(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)

You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ page.

You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the active widget areas in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want your links section to display …

(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)

The Links widget includes various settings. 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 sidebars and footers. This lets you add and feature several link lists sorted by categories throughout your site …

(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)

Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …

(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 settings – Sort by options)

When you have finished setting up your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should now appear on your sidebar menu …

(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 with widgets? We have written a detailed article about widgets. Go here to learn more about this:

• How To Add Widgets To WordPress

Links Manager – Additional Information

If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with search, filter, and sort functionality.

Sort Your Links

You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(Sort links)

Find Links Function

Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …

(Find your links)

Filtering Links Function

You can filter links by categories …

(Filtering your 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 links in the ‘Links’ column …

(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)

This brings up a list of all links listed under a specific link category …

(Links filtered by link category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to add a lot 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 your links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)

Plugin URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/

Plugin Description

Link Library gives you the ability to display a list of your link categories and a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …

(List of links created with Link library. Image: Link Library plugin website.)

Link Library can be used to create a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 link collection that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.

Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin:

• 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 inserting HTML links into your WordPress content. Go here to learn more about this:

• How To Use The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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