As you continue to discover more about the benefits of 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 section 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 links to your WordPress sidebar (e.g. a “Top 10 Resources” section) using a widget.

Before the release of WP version 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …

Before …

(WP Links Manager Feature – pre version 3.5)

After …

(The Links Manager feature – no longer included in the WordPress dashboard menu after WordPress v3.5)

If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your installation of WordPress 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 the Links menu section is not displayed when you log into your WordPress admin area, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager)

Plugin URL

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

Description Of Plugin

You can use this plugin to restore the built-in 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 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 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 WordPress Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

Installing Link Manager

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

In the WordPress dashboard 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 screen and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

Once you have activated the plugin, a ‘Links’ item will be added to the admin menu …

(WordPress links management menu section)

Setting Up The Plugin

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

Link Categories

To create a new link category, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

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

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: What you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
• Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category. 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 done, click Add New Link Category to save …

(Link Categories)

Your new category will now show in the list …

(Link Categories page)

Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …

(Default link category)

You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …

(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)

To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, 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, then click on the Update link Category button …

(Quick Edit)

Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Resources’ etc).

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

(Link category description)

Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …

(Edit Link Category area)

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

Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.

How To Add Links

To add a new link, go to the WP navigation menu and select Links > Add New …

(Links – Add New)

This brings up the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …

(Add New Link page)

You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …

(Links screen – Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

This section is where you enter your link details …

(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description section)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Enter the link category name.
• Slug: The slug displays 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.

Categories & Target

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

(Categories & Target)

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

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 by visitors:

• _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information associated with the link. Your visitor can see the information without leaving your website
• _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 browser window instead.
• _top opens links 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))

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Vivaan Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all 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 specifies 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, type nofollow into this field. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.

To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …

(Add New Link – 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 the image URL and make sure that your 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 your 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).

Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.

When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …

(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)

Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …

(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)

Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain periods and hide them afterwards) …

(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)

To see a list of all the links you have created, go to the navigation menu and select Links > All Links …

(Links – All Links)

You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …

(Table of links)

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

(Table of links – Screen Options)

Show/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …

(Show/hide – List of links)

How To Edit Your Links

To edit links in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu to bring up the links table …

(Links – All Links)

Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …

(Editing your links)

Edit the link …

(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 view your link and make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …

(Update Link button)

Deleting Your Links

To delete a link, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …

(Links Menu – All Links)

This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen.

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 removed and click on Delete …

(Deleting your links)

To delete multiple links, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …

(Delete multiple links)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …

(Bulk-deletion of links)

Your selected links will be removed …

(links deleted 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

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

To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in your navigation menu …

(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)

You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.

You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your active widget bars and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …

(Add a links widget to a widgetized area using drag & drop)

The Links widget offers various options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …

(Link widget - configurable settings)

You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you create and feature specific link categories on your site …

(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)

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

(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)

Once you are done configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should show on your site’s sidebar …

(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? To learn more about widgets, refer to this article:

• Adding WordPress Widgets To Your Sidebar Navigation Section

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, sort, and filter functionality.

Sort Links Function

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

(You can easily sort your links)

Searching Links

You can find links using the ‘Search Links’ function …

(You can search links using the search function)

Filtering Your Links

You can filter links by link categories …

(Filter 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 page)

This displays a list of all links listed 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 want 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)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

Link Library allows you to publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …

(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin site.)

Link Library can be used to create a page on your website that contains 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 that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.

To learn more this great plugin, go here:

• Link Library Plugin For WordPress

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to WordPress.

We have written a comprehensive article about inserting links into WordPress posts. To learn more, go here:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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