As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or web pages that display 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.”
You can add a set of links using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will then display on your website once you add the Links widget.
Before the release of WordPress v.3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WP Links Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would have been 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 you can’t see the Link Manager section when you log into your WordPress admin area 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
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin restores the built-in Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to WordPress 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 Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activating the plugin, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ item in your WP sidebar menu …
(Links management menu section)
Configuring The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding any new links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of your 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. (Optional)
When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
The new category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
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 the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing 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 Quick Edit …
(Edit the link category name)
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 Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the main dashboard menu …
(Links – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Links page – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Addressand Description area)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine friendly URL 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target)
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.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how your link should open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a separate browser window will open up to display the information for that link. Your visitor can access the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave your site and a new website 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Samantha Gould and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and your links will work just fine. XFN makes the links defined on your site 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, index, start, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced section – Add New Link page)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image 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 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not required.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to add links and then toggle their visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain periods and hide them afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have created, go to your WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen. The Links table displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view or hide information in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify a link in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu to bring up your list of links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing links)
Edit your link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
Removing Links
To remove a link, go to the WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all links at once.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check box next to every item that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox 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-delete function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links notification)
Plugin Usage
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 website.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in your dashboard navigation menu …
(WordPress Appearance – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
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 page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget includes various 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 as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and display specific link lists on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
After configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links will become 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 about adding widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sorting, searching, 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 links)
Searching Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(Searching links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering links by categories)
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 links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin allows you to display a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links plus descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus all links listed in 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 for your links that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the benefits of using this WordPress plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to your WordPress site.
To learn more about how to easily add HTML links in WordPress posts and pages, refer to this article:
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