As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links 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.”
You can display a links section on your blog using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature was part of the menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – no longer displayed in the WordPress menu after WordPress v.3.5)
If you have had an earlier version than 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would be 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 you can’t see the Links Manager section when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
You can use this plugin to display the built-in Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code 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 Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
From the WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then 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 activating the plugin, WordPress will add a ‘Links’ section to your sidebar menu …
(Links management menu)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding any new links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your admin menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you type here will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the link category name. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
The new category will display in the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a link, WordPress will assign 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 your blog readers. This will not only make it easier for visitors, 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 ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the link category name)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as your site needs.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the admin menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address, Description)
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your link category. Use only lowercase letters without 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new, separate browser window will open up to display the information for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks 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. 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 page – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Brian Jones 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 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 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, enter nofollow into this field.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced fields)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- 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 the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the link’s RSS feed can display 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 want 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 are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want your link to display during certain times and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your browser. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display or hide fields in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To edit a link, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing links)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Removing Links
To delete a link, choose Links > All Links in the main admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all your links.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the checkbox next to each item that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the 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 delete your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display your links on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your browser.
You will see that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to 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 want the links to display …
(Add a links widget to your widget bar using drag & drop)
The Links widget offers various configurable settings. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This lets you add and feature specific links throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can select a link category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should display on your website’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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on adding widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sort, search, and filter functionality.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Search Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Finding your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter your links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the 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)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you intend to add a ‘Links’ page 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.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all 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 be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here to learn more about using this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to your WordPress site.
We have also created a detailed article on how to easily add HTML links into WordPress posts here:
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"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