As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar menu 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.”
You can add a blogroll using the Links menu in your WP Dashboard. These links will display on your sidebar or footer once you add the Links widget.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Feature – pre version 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you’ve used an earlier version than v 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not display 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 you can’t see a Links section on your main menu when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete 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
You can use this plugin to restore the built-in Link 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 a while, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use this plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow the step-by-step instructions below:
In your WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After you have activated the plugin, WordPress will add a ‘Links’ section to the WP dashboard menu area …
(Links menu)
Plugin Setup
Before you start adding any new links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the WP navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you enter here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories screen)
Your new category will display in the table …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to your visitors. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
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 default link category name)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as you need.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, go to your WP admin menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category name. 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, 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 a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new website or page will load in your web 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Dhruv Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and all of your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 what relationship exists 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Add New Link – 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. Add an image URL and make sure that your 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 your link.
- 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to 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 created, go to the dashboard menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page. The Links screen displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view or hide fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Links
To modify a link, click on Links > All Links in the admin menu to bring up the table of links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing link information)
Make changes to the link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done 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 the link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete links, go to the dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load 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 your cursor over the link you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the check boxes next to individual links that you would like to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your selected links will be removed …
(Deleted links message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main dashboard menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of the active widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area using drag and drop)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and display link lists sorted by categories throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link title, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links will display on your website …
(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 help with widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on using widgets. For more details:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with filter, search, and sort functions.
Sort 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 black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Search Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Searching links function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find 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 grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot 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 links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your website that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus all links defined for 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 link collection that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
For more information about this WordPress plugin, visit the plugin site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article about inserting hyperlinks into WordPress. If you are interested in learning more about this here:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)