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

WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other sites 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 display a featured links section on your website using the Link Manager plugin.

Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …

Before …

(The Links Manager feature appeared in the WordPress menu until the release of WordPress version 3.5)

After …

(The Links Manager – excluded from WordPress after WordPress v3.5)

If you have had an earlier version than 3.5 installed and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it.

 

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 admin area, 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 sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description

You can use this plugin to display the Link Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.

Note: This plugin adds 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 some time, 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 template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

How To Install Link Manager

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

From the WordPress administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installation …

Once you have activated the plugin, a ‘Links’ item will be displayed in the WP dashboard menu area …

(WordPress links management menu section)

Plugin Setup

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

Link Categories

To create a new link category, go to your admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.

Type in the following information:

• Name: Enter the category name.
• Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine friendly 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 a link category description.

Click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …

(Link Categories)

Your category details will display in the table …

(Link Categories page)

Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns 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 that will make sense to blog readers. 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 change the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …

(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), and click on the Update link Category button …

(Edit the default link category name)

In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

Let’s insert a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …

(You can add/edit the category description)

Enter your link category description field and click Update …

(Edit Link Category area)

Repeat this process and add as many link categories as you need.

Once you have configured your link categories, you can being adding new links.

How To Add New Links

To add a new link, go to the main dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …

(Links – Add New)

This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …

(Add New Link page)

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

(Links screen – Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter your link details in this section …

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

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: Whatever you type in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
• Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category name. Only use lower case letters 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 with their mouse. (Optional)

Categories & Target

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

(Categories & Target area – Add New Link page)

In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.

Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:

• _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information associated with the link.
• _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 just ignore this option.

Link Relationship XFN

This area provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) area)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Jade Anderson and you link to her 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 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 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.

To learn more about XFN, visit this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

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 empty unless you have a reason to use them) …

(Advanced link settings – Add New Link)

The Advanced link settings section contains the following:

• Image Address: 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 can display next to your link.
• Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
• Rating: You can add a rating score to the link if you would like 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 are not essential.

When you are done adding your new link information, 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 your links private)

Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …

(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)

To see a list of all the links you have created, click on Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …

(Links Menu – All Links)

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

(Links table)

Tip: To view or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …

(Screen Options – Links screen)

Display/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …

(Show/hide – Table of links)

How To Edit Links

To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to the admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the links table …

(Links – All Links)

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

(Editing link information)

Edit the link details …

(Edit Link screen)

After you’re done editing the link, you can:

• Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your link table if you no longer require it …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

How To Remove Links

To delete a link, go to your WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links …

(WP Links Menu – All Links)

The ‘Links’ page 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 links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …

(Deleting links)

To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …

(Deleting multiple links)

Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …

(Bulk-deletion of links)

The links you have selected will be removed …

(links deleted 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 display your links on your site.

Using The Links Widget

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

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

(Appearance – Widgets)

This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ page.

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 areas in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want your links section to display …

(Add a links widget to your WordPress sidebar using drag and drop)

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

(Link widget options)

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 …

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

Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …

(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 options – Sorting options)

Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links should display on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have placed the widget in …

(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 detailed article about configuring widgets here:

• How To Add Widgets To WordPress

Links Manager – Additional Information

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

Sorting Links Function

You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(Sorting links)

Finding Links Function

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

(Finding your links)

Filter 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …

(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)

This brings up 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 website, 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 Link Management Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin gives you the ability to display a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links plus descriptions and notes …

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

Link Library creates a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links section, plus all links defined for 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 link collection that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.

Go here to learn more this powerful plugin:

• Link Library – WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to your WordPress sidebar.

We have written a detailed article about inserting links into your WordPress posts and pages. Go here to learn more:

• How To Use The Internal Linking Tool In WordPress

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