As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar section 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.”
You can manage a set of links using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will display on your sidebar if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Manager Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager)
If you’ve used an earlier version than 3.5 and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not appear 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 your main menu when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to restore the default Links Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the plugin had not been updated for a while, 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
From the WordPress dashboard area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select 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 it has been installed …
After activation, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ item on the WP navigation menu …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
Before adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your web browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
Click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories)
Your new category will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this default link category name to something that will make sense to your visitors. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this 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 New Links
To add a new link, go to your dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address& Description)
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category. Use lowercase letters only 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.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target area – Add New Link page)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add 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 where you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the link information without leaving your website
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new site 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Matthew Anderson and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all 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 is used to define 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, index, start, help, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting 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) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 RSS feed associated with the link can display next to the links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section 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 into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you have finished 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 tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want your link to display during certain periods and hide it afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the 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. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To display additional options in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide – Links page)
Editing Links
To edit a link, go to your dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing links)
Change the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in the main navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkbox next to every item that you want to remove, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The selected links will be deleted …
(links deleted notice)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display links on your website.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your admin menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see 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 want the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area using drag and drop)
The Links widget offers various options. For example, you can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you create and feature link sections throughout 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 settings – 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)
Once you are done configuring your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should display on your website …
(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 about adding widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, searching, and filtering features.
Sort Links
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Find Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(You can easily search your links with the search function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter your links by link categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website or blog, or if you would like 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 your links.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, and all links listed in 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 additions to your link library.
To learn more about this useful plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress sidebar.
We have written a comprehensive article on adding hyperlinks into WordPress posts. For more info, see this article:
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