As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or web pages that display 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 feature lets you add external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar (e.g. a “Top 3 Resources” section) using a widget.
Before the release of v 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(Links displayed in the menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)
If your blog had the Link Manager installed, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WP installation is new, then this function will become invisible – 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 a Links section on the main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add this feature via a plugin. This tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to display the Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last 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 – Link Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
In your WP admin 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 results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After the plugin is activated, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed in your WP admin menu area …
(WordPress links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, you can assign new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your dashboard menu …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the link category name. 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.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories area)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to your visitors. 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 …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category 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)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process and add as many new link categories as your site needs.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the navigation menu …
(Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field displays as 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.
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want your link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new browser window will open up 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 …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link page)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Lucinda Schwartz and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of 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 lets you specify the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute specifies 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, index, start, help, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced link settings)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: 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 RSS feed associated with the link will be displayed next to your link.
- 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 would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all the links you have created, click on Links > All Links in your navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your web browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To display additional options in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Hide or display – Links table)
How To Edit Link Information
To edit a link in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP navigation menu to bring up the links screen …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing link information)
Make changes to the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (your 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)
Removing Your Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all of your links.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
Your links will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
Using The Plugin
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 links on your website.
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 the main navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your web browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of your active widget bars and drop it wherever you would like the links to display …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area using drag and drop)
The Links widget provides various options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and feature a number of link categories throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-down menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
After setting up your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will now be visible on your site …
(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 help using widgets? We have written a detailed article on configuring widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filter, sort, and search features.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links function)
Finding Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Finding your links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter your links by link category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. 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 listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, 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 your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your website 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 so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to WordPress.
We have written a detailed article on how to add HTML links into your WordPress posts and pages. For more details, go here:
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