As you continue to discover more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term 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.”

The Links Manager lets you add and manage external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar section (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using widgets.

Prior to the release of version 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …

Before …

(Links – included in the WordPress dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)

After …

(Post v.3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)

If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Link Manager would be removed, unless you have 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 Manager is not visible when you log into your WordPress admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

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

Description

You can use this plugin to display the default Links menu on your dashboard, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of code 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

Installing Link Manager

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

From your WP administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select 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 installation …

Once the plugin is activated, WordPress adds a ‘Links’ item to the WP admin menu area …

(WordPress links menu)

Setting Up Link Manager

Before you start adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.

Link Categories

To create a link category, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …

(Links – Link Categories)

This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.

Enter the following information:

• Name: Enter the category name here.
• Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category name. Only use lower case letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)

after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …

(Link Categories area)

The category details will now show in the list …

(Link Categories)

Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …

(Default link category name)

You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. 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 assigned to the new category name …

(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)

To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …

(Quick Edit)

Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …

(Editing the link category)

In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

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

(You can add/edit your category description)

Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as your site needs.

After configuring your link categories, you can add your links.

How To Add Links

To create a new link, select Links > Add New in the main dashboard menu …

(WP Links Menu – Add New)

This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …

(Add New Link screen)

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

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description fields)

Type in the following information:

• Name: What you type here will display as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the URL part 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. (Optional)

Categories & Target

After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …

(Categories & Target)

In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.

Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how your link should open when a visitor clicks on it:

• _blank means that a new, separate 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 site
• _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. Ignore 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 …

(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 Ayan Fields and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some sites and search engines that use this information.

rel – This field specifies 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, type nofollow into this field. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, start, help, etc.

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 ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …

(Advanced section – Add New Link screen)

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 the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
• RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link can be displayed next to your 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 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, as these are not essential.

When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …

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

Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …

(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)

Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

To see all the links you have created, go to the WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …

(WordPress Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …

(Links screen)

Tip: To show or hide information 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 checkboxes …

(Show/hide links)

Editing Links

To edit links, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your links page …

(Links – All Links)

Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …

(Editing link information)

Change the link fields …

(Edit Link page)

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 (your link will open in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your table if it’s no longer required …

(Update Link button)

How To Delete Links

To remove links from the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu …

(Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all of your links.

To delete individual links, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …

(Deleting your links)

To delete links in bulk, either tick the check boxes next to individual items 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 …

(Deleting multiple links)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown 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, let’s show you how to display links on your website or blog.

Links Widget

Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.

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

(Appearance – Widgets)

You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.

You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections and drop it wherever you want your links to show up …

(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to your WordPress sidebar)

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

(Link widget - options)

You can add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific link lists sorted by categories on your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)

You can select a link category …

(Link widget options – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget settings – Sorting options)

Once you are done setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will show up immediately on your sidebar, footer or wherever you add the widget to …

(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 with widgets? Go here if you would like to learn more about configuring widgets:

• Adding Widgets To Your Sidebar Navigation Section

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching functions.

Sort Your Links

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

(Sort your links)

Searching Links Function

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

(You can search links with the search function)

Filtering Links

You can filter links by categories …

(Filtering 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 …

(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)

This brings up a list of all links grouped under 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 if you intend 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 WordPress Plugin)

Download Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

Link Library gives you the ability to display 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.)

Link Library creates a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, and 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 of your links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.

Visit the plugin site to learn more this plugin:

• Link Library Plugin For WordPress

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

We have written a comprehensive article on adding links in WordPress posts. Go here to learn more about this:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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