As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.

WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or 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.”

The Links feature lets you add and manage a links section to a widgetized theme.

Prior to the release of WordPress v.3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …

Before …

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

After …

(The Links Manager – no longer included in the admin menu after WordPress v3.5)

If you were using the Links Manager in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your installation of WordPress 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 you can’t see a Links item on the main menu when you log into your WordPress backend, you can add it via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

You can use this plugin to display 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 code to your installation 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links)

Plugin Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

Installing The Plugin

To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these step-by-step instructions:

In your WordPress dashboard menu, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ item in the dashboard menu area …

(WordPress links menu section)

Plugin Setup

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

Link Categories

To create a new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your WP navigation menu …

(Links – Link Categories)

This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page.

Type in information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the category name here.
• Slug: The slug displays in the URL 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. (Optional)

Click Add New Link Category …

(Link Categories)

Your new category will be added to the table …

(Link Categories)

Tip: WordPress calls its default link category 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 that will make sense to your readers. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically display under the new category name …

(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)

To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …

(Quick Edit)

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

(Quick Edit)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ 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 the category description)

Add your link category description field and click Update …

(Edit Link Category area)

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

After setting up your link categories, you can being adding new links.

How To Add New Links

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

(Links Menu – Add New)

This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ page …

(Add New Link page)

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

(Links – 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 – Add New Link screen)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Enter the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the web address bit of the 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)

Categories & Target

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

(Categories & Target area – Add New Link page)

In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add 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 where you want your link to open when clicked on:

• _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new web browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
• _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 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 just ignore this option.

Link Relationship XFN

This section provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Holden Jones 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 your links will work just fine. 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 defines 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, start, index, etc.

To learn more about XFN, visit 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 these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …

(Add New Link page – Advanced link settings)

The Advanced link settings section includes the following:

• 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 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).

Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section blank.

When you have finished adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …

(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)

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

(Make your links private)

Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

To view all your links, go to your navigation menu and select Links > All Links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

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

(Links page)

Tip: To display additional information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen Options – List of links)

Show/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …

(Show/hide links)

Editing Link Information

To modify links in the Link Manager, go to your admin menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links page …

(Links Menu – All Links)

Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …

(Editing link information)

Edit 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 view your link and make sure that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your table of links …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

Deleting Your Links

To remove a link, select Links > All Links in your WP dashboard menu …

(WordPress Links – All Links)

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

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

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

(Delete your links)

To delete multiple links, either tick the check box next to each item 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 …

(Delete multiple links)

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

(Bulk-deletion of links)

All the links you have selected will be removed …

(Deleted links message)

Using The Plugin

Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website.

Links Widget

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

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP admin menu and select Appearance > Widgets …

(Appearance – Widgets)

This brings up the ‘Widgets’ screen in your web browser.

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

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget areas and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …

(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to your widget bar)

The Links widget offers a number of settings. 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 sidebar. This allows you to create and display various links throughout your site …

(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)

You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-down menu …

(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget options – Sorting options)

When you have finished configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links should display on your site’s sidebar menu …

(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 detailed article on using widgets here:

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching functionality.

Sorting Links Function

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

(Sorting links)

Search Links

Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …

(You can easily find links using the search function)

Filter Your Links

You can filter links by category …

(Filter links by link category)

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 …

(searching and filtering 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 use links extensively on your site, or if you would like to add a ‘Links’ page 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)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

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

(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)

Link Library creates a page on your web site 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 of your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.

To learn more about the Link Library plugin:

• Link Library Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.

We have also created a detailed article about how to easily add links into WordPress posts & pages here:

• How To Use The Internal Linking Tool In WordPress

***