As you continue to learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or pages displayed on your sidebar.
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 a links section to your WordPress sidebar (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using widgets.
Prior to the release of version 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager feature is no longer part of WordPress after WordPress v3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v3.5 installed and updated your installation, then the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WordPress installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed 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 you can’t see a Links section on the main menu when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this 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
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 recreates the same concept as the built-in WP Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 activation, a ‘Links’ item will show up in your WP dashboard menu …
(Links menu)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories page)
Your link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
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 users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the link category name)
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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Edit the link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process and add as many different link categories as your site needs.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to your WP dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address, Description)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how your link should open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link. This allows your visitors to access the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) section – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Ashley Anderson 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. 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 specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute is used to define the relationship 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not required.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, go to the navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your browser. The Links screen displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To show or hide options in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Links screen – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Link Information
To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to the dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the list of links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing links)
Edit your link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check 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 if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in the main admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all of your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the check box next to every link that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click Apply to remove your 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 make links display on your website or blog.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ page.
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 the widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget includes various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and feature links throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section should become visible 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 help with widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on widgets. You can learn more about this here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filtering, searching, and sorting features.
Sort Your Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Find Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(You can find links with the search function)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter 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 …
(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 category)
Links – Additional 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to display a list of your link categories and a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site containing a list of all of 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 for your links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
For more details about this powerful plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to external sites in WordPress.
Go here to learn more about adding HTML links in your WordPress posts and pages:
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now