As you continue to discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar area is often referred to 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 add and manage links to a widgetized theme.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(Links displayed in the menu until the release of WordPress version 3.5)
After …
(Links – excluded from the admin menu after WP v.3.5)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your site installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – you will not see it displayed 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin displays the built-in Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use the Link Manager 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/
Plugin Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in WP Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these step-by-step instructions:
From your WordPress dashboard area, select 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 results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
Once the plugin has been activated, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ feature to your admin menu area …
(Links management menu)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the WP navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO 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.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories screen)
Your category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress will automatically assign 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 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 …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the default link category)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Resources’ etc).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Add New …
(WordPress Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address, Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- 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. 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 with their mouse. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target fields – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where the link should open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that when visitors click on your link, a new window will open up in their browser to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your 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. Don’t worry about this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Debbie Fields 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 all of your links will work just fine. XFN makes your links 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 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’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced area)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an image URL 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 be displayed next to the link.
- 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
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 Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your web browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To show or hide information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Links
To edit links, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your links)
Change the link fields …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your table of links if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to your WP admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkbox next to each link that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your links will be removed …
(Deleted links notice)
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.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard navigation menu …
(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like the links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This lets you add and display link lists 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 settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will now 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 detailed article on adding widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filtering, searching, and sorting features.
Sorting Links Function
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)
Searching Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(You can search your links using the search function)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter your links by link 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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website or blog, 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 Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, and 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.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress sidebar.
Go here if you would like to learn more about adding hyperlinks into WordPress posts:
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