As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other sites or pages displayed on your sidebar.
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 hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar area (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using widgets.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(Links – part of the admin menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)
After …
(Links is no longer included in the admin menu after WordPress v.3.5)
If you were using the Links Manager in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when your installation updates to a newer version. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will become invisible – you won’t see it on the 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 the Links Manager is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install 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
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin restores the default Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to your installation 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WordPress admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ item on your dashboard menu …
(Links menu section)
Setting Up Link Manager
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding new links. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the admin menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the URL 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 a link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …
(Link Categories area)
Your category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
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 listed under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Edit the link category name)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).
Let’s add a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as you need.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to your dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page 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 various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address 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 link …
(Categories & Target section – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a separate web browser window will open up to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit your site and a new site 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. Don’t worry about 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 – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Ryan Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some sites 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) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced link settings section contains the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an 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 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 your new link information, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have created, select Links > All Links in the admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your web browser. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view additional options in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide – Table of links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To edit a link in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your admin menu to bring up your table of links …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing link information)
Make any changes you want to the link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table of links …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To delete a link, choose Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link title you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to make links display on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in your WP navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page.
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 active widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and display link lists on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links should show up immediately on your sidebar …
(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 using widgets? To learn more about using widgets, see this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filter, sort, and search functions.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Search Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Search your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering links by 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, or if you intend to add a page containing a list of links 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, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site 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 for your links that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to your WordPress site.
Go here for a detailed article about adding HTML links in your WordPress posts and pages:
***
"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)