As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar area is sometimes 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 feature lets you easily add and manage links to a widget-ready theme.
Prior to the release of WordPress v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the admin menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager feature is no longer part of WordPress after WP v3.5)
If your website or blog this feature was previously active on your website or blog, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not appear on your 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 item is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. This tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
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 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 code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. The last time we checked, this plugin had not been updated for a while, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use the Link Manager plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your site, follow these instructions:
In your WP administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Once you have activated the plugin, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ section on your WP dashboard menu screen …
(Links menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the WP admin menu …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
When finished, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. 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 this to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Special Deals’ etc).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as your site needs.
After setting up your link categories, you can being adding new links.
How To Add New Links
To create a new link, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description fields)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target section – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how you want your link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a separate browser window will open up to display the information for that link. This lets your visitors access the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Jade Jones and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and your links will still work. 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 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, start, index, help, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced area)
The Advanced section fields include 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 your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link will be displayed next to the 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to your WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page in your browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To display or hide fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide – Table of links)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify links, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu to bring up your links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your links)
Make any changes you want to your link fields …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Update Link button)
Removing Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, go to your admin menu and choose Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check box next to every link that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links will be deleted …
(Link deletion 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.
Using The Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of your widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget offers various options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific links on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
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 ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links should show up immediately on your site’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 more help using widgets? We have written a detailed article on widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functions.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort your links)
Find Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(You can search your links using the search function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering links by link categories)
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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up 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 website or blog, or if you intend 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer your 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 and a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)
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. 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 link collection that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to your WordPress sidebar.
Go here if you want to learn more how to insert HTML links into WordPress:
***
"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