As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or blogs that display on your sidebar area.
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 blogroll using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will then display on your blog once you add the Links widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre version 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)
If you were using the Links Manager in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your installation of WordPress is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on your 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 admin area you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation in order to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In your WP dashboard 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 activation, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ item on the WP admin menu screen …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of your link category name. Only use lower case letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will be added to the table …
(Link Categories screen)
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 understand. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the link category)
Change 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)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, select Links > Add New in the WP navigation menu …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will display in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main 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 …
(Name, Web Addressand Description area)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target area – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Next, 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 visitors click on your link, a new window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new website or page will load in your web 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))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Edwin Silva and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some websites and search engines that use this information.
rel – This field specifies 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you specify 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 link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL 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 can be displayed next to the links.
- 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 ignore this section.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make links private by checking the box)
Making links private allows you to toggle their visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all the links you have added, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen. The table of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional information in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Links page – Hide or display screen options)
Editing Your Links
To modify a link, go to the main admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Change your link …
(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 check that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all links at once.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check boxes next to individual links 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)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display your links on your website.
Using The 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 admin menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want your links section to display …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area using drag & drop)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - options)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and feature a number of links throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(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 options – Sort by options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should appear on your sidebar, footer or wherever you place the widget in …
(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? We have written a detailed article about widgets. To learn more about this go here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, search, and filter functions.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can sort your links)
Search Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Find your links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering 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 links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, 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 links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, 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 for your links 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 and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
If you want to learn more about inserting HTML links into your WordPress content, refer to this article:
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