As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites 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 Manager lets you easily add and manage external links to a widget-ready theme.
Prior to the release of WP v 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature – part of the menu until the release of WordPress v.3.5)
After …
(Post v.3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v 3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will become invisible – 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 item on the main menu when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to display the default Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to your installation in order 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)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
In your WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
After activating the plugin, a ‘Links’ section will be added to your sidebar menu area …
(WordPress links menu section)
Plugin Configuration
Before adding new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your admin menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories page)
The link category will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a new 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 visitors, 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 category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
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 …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, the link category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a link category description. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
After configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, select Links > Add New in the WP navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address, Description area)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information for that link. Your visitor can access the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new website 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section 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 to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Anna O’Malley and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of 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 specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute is used to define a 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is stored and make sure that the 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 links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
- Rating: You can add a rating score to the link if you want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not required.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all your links, click on Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser. The Links page displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To display additional columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(List of links – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Link Information
To modify links, go to the WP dashboard menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the links page …
(WP Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Edit your link fields …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your list …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your 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 title you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(Link deletion message)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your dashboard menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
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 active widget areas in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want your links to show up …
(Drag & drop your links widget to add it to your sidebar)
The Links widget offers various configurable settings. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you create and display links on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(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 settings – Sorting options)
When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should display on your site …
(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 more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article about adding widgets. For more info, see this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using search, filter, and sort features.
Sorting 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 …
(Sort links)
Find Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(You can easily find links with the search function)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter links by link categories)
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 page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website, 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 consider 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 gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories with a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, 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 that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here for more details about using this useful plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to your WordPress site.
Go here if you want to learn more adding HTML links in your WordPress content:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)