As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar section 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 feature lets you easily add hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.
Prior to the release of v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Links – excluded from the WordPress menu after WordPress v 3.5)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to restore the Links Manager, even if you update 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. The last time we 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 Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
Once you’ve activated the plugin, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ functionality to your sidebar menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding 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 your navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your link category. It must all be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories page)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to 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 item 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 …
(Edit the link category name)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).
Let’s create a link category description. 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 …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as your site requires.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target fields – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already set up, 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 how the link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will exit your site and a new site or page will load in your web browser window instead.
- _top opens the link 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN) area)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Saanvi Larsson and you link to her blog, you would probably tick 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. 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 specifies 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.
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 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 the URL of your image 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 be displayed 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 would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Type in your information into 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 update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
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 allows you to toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view a list of all the links you have added, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view or hide information in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Display/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Table of links – Hide or display screen options)
Editing Your Links
To modify links in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the dashboard menu to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
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 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)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check box next to each link that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion message)
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 your links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in your navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ screen in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your active widget areas and drop it wherever you want your links section to display …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget provides a number of options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you create and display link lists throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-down menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
After setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should show up immediately on your website …
(An example of how 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 adding widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sorting, searching, and filtering functions.
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 triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort links)
Finding Your Links
You can find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(Find your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter links by 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 screen)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots 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 links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin site.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your web site that contains 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 be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have also written a comprehensive article about creating HTML links in your WordPress posts here:
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