As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to external sites or pages displayed on your sidebar section.
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 add a links section to your sidebar section (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using a widget.
Before the release of WP version 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature – included in the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)
After …
(Post v.3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it.
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 WordPress backend, you can add it via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to restore the built-in Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version 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 a while, 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/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
In the WordPress admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ item in your admin menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Setting Up Link Manager
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your dashboard menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your web browser.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: What you enter in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug displays in the 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.
When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category …
(Link Categories area)
Your category details will display in the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
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 display under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the default link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many different link categories as your site requires.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to the dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address, Description area)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)
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 link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where your link should open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a separate browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit your site and a new website 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link page – Link Relationship (XFN) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Leonora Smith 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 all your links will still work. 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 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced section)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image 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 will display next to the link.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
- Rating: 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 blank.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain times and hide them when they are no longer required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all your links, click on Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page in your browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display additional fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Links table – Hide or display screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To edit links, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing links)
Edit your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete a link, click on Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser.
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 to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkbox next to every item that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
Your links will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links on your site.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ page.
You will see that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget bars and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget includes various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar and footer. This lets you add and feature specific lists of links on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display links 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 – Sorting options)
After setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section should show up immediately on your site …
(An example of how 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 help using widgets? If you want to learn more about widgets, refer to this article:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching features.
Sorting Links
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 …
(Sorting links)
Finding Links
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Searching links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter your links by link categories)
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 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 use links extensively on your site, or if you would like 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.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you display a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, 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 of your link collection that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
Go here to learn more this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other websites in WordPress.
To learn more about adding HTML links into your WordPress posts and pages, refer to this article:
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum