As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or blogs that display on your sidebar section.
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 display a featured links section on your website using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Before 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 kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Manager Feature – pre v3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve 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 the Links Manager section when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add 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 restore the Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to your installation in order 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Links Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
From your WordPress admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select 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, the ‘Links’ function is restored to the WP navigation menu area …
(Links menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding links. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your WP navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug displays in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories screen)
Your category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default 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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can being adding your links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description – Add New Link page)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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 the new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target fields)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a separate web browser window will open up to display the information associated with the 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. Ignore 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 screen – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Anika Fields 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 work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 is used to define the 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- 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 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 display next to the 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private allows you to add a link and then 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 all your links, go to the main admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To show or hide columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(List of links – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Links
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to your dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the links page …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your link information)
Edit your 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 view your link and check that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table of links if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove links, click on Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your 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 cursor over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check boxes next to individual links that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion notice)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to set up 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
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will load 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 the active widget areas and drop it wherever you want your links to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag & drop)
The Links widget offers various settings. For example, you can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to add and display multiple link lists on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
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 options – Sort by options)
Once you are done setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will display on your sidebar, footer or wherever you place the widget in …
(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 about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filtering, sorting, and searching features.
Sort Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can sort your links)
Searching Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Search links function)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering links by categories)
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 displays 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 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)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin lets you display a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, and all links defined for these categories. 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 link collection that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more this great plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article on how to easily insert HTML hyperlinks into WordPress. Go here to learn more:
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