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

In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar 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 easily add links to a widgetized theme.

Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v.3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …

Before …

(WP Links Menu – pre v3.5)

After …

(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)

If your website had the Link Manager installed, then it will still be available when your installation updates to a newer version. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not display 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin restores the Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

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

How To Install Link Manager

To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:

In your WP admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

Locate the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after it has been installed …

After activation, a ‘Links’ item will show up on the WP admin menu …

(WordPress links management menu section)

Plugin Configuration

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

Link Categories

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

(Links – Link Categories)

The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your web browser.

Enter information into the following fields:

• Name: Enter the link category name here.
• Slug: The slug is the web address 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.

When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save …

(Link Categories)

Your link category will now show in the list …

(Link Categories)

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

(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)

You may want to change the default link category name to something that will make sense to site visitors. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …

(Change the default ’blogroll’ 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 …

(Edit the link category)

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), and click on the Update link Category button …

(Quick Edit)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).

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

(Link category description)

Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update done to save your settings …

(Edit Link Category area)

Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as you need.

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

How To Add Links

To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in your dashboard navigation menu …

(WP Links Menu – Add New)

This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ page …

(Add New Link page)

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

(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 screen – Name, Web Address, Description fields)

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the link category name.
• 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 a 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)

In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already set up, 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 you want the link to open when clicked on by visitors:

• _blank means that when visitors click on your link, a separate browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. This lets your visitors access the information without leaving your website
• _none means that when visitors click on the 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. Ignore 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 …

(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN))

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

XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will still work. XFN makes your links more understandable to some sites 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 a relationship 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, start, help, index, 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 page – Advanced fields)

The Advanced section fields are as follows:

• Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL and make sure that the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
• RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link will 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).

Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.

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

(Click on Add Link to save your new link)

Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, your 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 toggle link visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain periods and hide them when they are no longer required) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

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

(Links Menu – All Links)

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

(Links table)

Tip: To show or hide information in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen Options – Links screen)

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

(Show/hide links)

How To Edit Your Link Information

To edit a link in the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu to bring up the links screen …

(Links – All Links)

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

(Editing link information)

Make changes to your link details …

(Edit Link page)

After editing your link, you can:

• Click on Update Link to save your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to remove the link from your table of links …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

How To Delete Your Links

To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to the admin menu and select Links > All Links …

(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)

You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.

To delete links individually, hover over the link you want removed and click on Delete …

(Deleting your links)

To delete multiple links, either tick the checkboxes next to individual items that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …

(Delete multiple links)

Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …

(Links: bulk-delete function)

All the links you have selected will be deleted …

(Link deletion notification)

Using The Link Manager Plugin

Now that you know how to configure 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 Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …

(Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.

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 active widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want the links section to show up …

(Adding a links widget to your widget bar using drag and drop)

The Links widget includes a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …

(Link widget settings)

You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar and footer. This lets you add and display specific link lists throughout your site …

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

Select a link category to display specific links …

(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)

You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …

(Link widget options – Sorting options)

When you have finished configuring the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should become visible on your site …

(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 using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about widgets. Go here to learn more about this:

• Adding WordPress Widgets To Your Sidebar Area

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filter, search, and sort features.

Sorting Your Links

To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(You can easily sort links)

Finding Links

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

(Search links)

Filter Links

You can filter links by categories …

(Filter 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 links in the ‘Links’ column …

(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)

This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …

(Links filtered by category)

Additional Link Options

If you plan to add lots 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 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 publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links plus descriptions and notes …

(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)

This useful plugin creates a page on your site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.

To learn more this plugin, go here:

• Link Library Plugin For WordPress

Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to external sites in WordPress.

We have written a comprehensive article on how to add hyperlinks in your WordPress content. For more info, see this article:

• How To Use The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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