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

In WordPress terminology, a list of links 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 feature lets you add links to a widget-ready theme.

Prior to the release of WP v.3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …

Before …

(The Links Manager was part of the WordPress menu until the release of WP v 3.5)

After …

(Post v3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)

If you were using the Link Manager in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – you won’t 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 WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

You can use this plugin to restore the Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of 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)

Download URL

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/

Description Of Plugin

Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

Installing The Plugin

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

From the WP administration menu, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select 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 it has been installed …

After the plugin is activated, a ‘Links’ item will be added to the dashboard menu …

(Links menu section)

Configuring The Plugin

We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding 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 dashboard menu and choose Links > Link Categories …

(WordPress Links – Link Categories)

This loads the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.

Type in the following information:

• Name: What you enter here will display as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category name. It must all be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description.

When done, click the Add New Link Category button …

(Link Categories page)

Your new category will display in the list …

(Link Categories)

Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign 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 better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically appear under the new category name …

(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)

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

(Editing the default link category)

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 …

(Editing the default link category)

In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

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

(Link category description)

Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update done to save your settings …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as you need.

Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add your links.

How To Add New Links

To add a new link, go to the admin menu and select Links > Add New …

(Links Menu – Add New)

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

(Add New Link page)

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

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

This section lets you enter details about your link …

(Name, Web Address, Description section – Add New Link)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Whatever you enter in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
• Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category. Only use lower case letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name with their mouse.

Categories & Target

After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …

(Add New Link – Categories & Target area)

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.

Next, 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 your link to open when a visitor clicks on it:

• _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new web browser window will open up to display the information for that link. This allows your visitors to see the information without leaving your page
• _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit 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. 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) – Add New Link)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Gus Schwartz 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 all of your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some sites and search engines that use this information.

rel – This field specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute specifies a 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.

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

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section empty unless you have a reason to use them) …

(Advanced area)

The Advanced section fields are as follows:

• Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL 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 will be displayed next to your link.
• Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
• Rating: 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 are not required.

When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to save your new link …

(Click on Add Link to save your new link)

Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …

(You can make links private by checking the box)

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

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

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

(Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser. The Links page displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …

(Table of links)

Tip: To display or hide fields in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …

(Screen Options – Links table)

Display/hide fields on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …

(Show/hide – Links page)

How To Edit Link Information

To modify links, go to the main navigation menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …

(Links – All Links)

Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …

(Editing your links)

Change the link details …

(Edit Link page)

After editing the link, you can:

• Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to see your link and check that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …

(Update Link button)

Deleting Links

To remove links, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard menu …

(Links – All Links)

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

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all of your links.

To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …

(Deleting links)

To delete multiple links, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you want removed, 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’ pull-down menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …

(Bulk-delete links)

The links you have selected will be deleted …

(Link deletion notice)

Using The Link Manager Plugin

Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your website or blog.

Links Widget

The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …

(Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.

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

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget bars and drop it wherever you want the links section to display …

(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag & drop)

The Links widget includes various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …

(Link widget - configurable settings)

You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and display several link sections throughout your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)

Display a list of items for a specific category …

(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)

You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …

(Link widget settings – Sorting options)

When you have finished configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will now appear on your website or blog’s sidebar …

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

• How To Add Widgets To WordPress

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, search, and filter features.

Sorting Links

To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(You can sort links)

Search Links Function

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

(You can find your links using the search function)

Filtering Links

You can filter links by link categories …

(Filter your links by categories)

You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. 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 displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …

(Links filtered by category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to add lots of links to your site, or if you want 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, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link library – WordPress Links Management Plugin)

Download Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin lets you publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …

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

Link Library can be used to create a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, 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 links so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.

For more information about this handy plugin, go here:

• Link Library Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress site.

We have written a detailed article on how to easily add hyperlinks in WordPress. To learn more, go here:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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