As you continue to learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages 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.”
The Links Manager lets you easily add and manage external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar area (e.g. a “Top 10 Resources” section) using widgets.
Prior to the release of version 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager was part of the WordPress admin menu until the release of WP v.3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Links 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 you can’t see a Links section on the main menu when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to display the built-in 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. 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Links Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will show up in the WP dashboard menu area …
(Links management menu)
Configuring The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding new links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will load in your browser.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug shows up 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.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . 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 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 your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category name)
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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
After configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the admin menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you type here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the URL of the link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no 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 page – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category link.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Joshua Gould and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. 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 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 a relationship 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 this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Add New Link page – Advanced fields)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL and make sure that your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link will be displayed next to the link.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
- Rating: 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 in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not required.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(You can make links private by checking the box)
Making a link private lets you toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, click on Links > All Links in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ table. The Links screen displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To show or hide information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Links table – Screen Options)
Show/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Links table – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To edit a link in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your WP admin menu to bring up your table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing link information)
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 the link’s URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your list if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To remove links, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link title you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the check box next to each item that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be deleted …
(Deleted links 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 website.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.
You will notice 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 the active widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress sidebar using drag and drop)
The Links widget offers various configurable options. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and display a number of different link categories on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can add and display a list of links for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links should now display on your website or blog’s sidebar …
(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 more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article on adding widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with filtering, searching, and sorting features.
Sorting Your 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 …
(Sort links)
Searching Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Finding links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by category …
(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 category 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 category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you want 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links section, and 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 for your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.
We have written a detailed article about inserting HTML links into your WordPress content. For more info, see this article:
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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