As you discover 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.
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 links section on your blog using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(Links – included in the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on your dashboard 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 your main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin restores the Links menu on your dashboard, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version 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. When we last checked, this 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In the WP dashboard area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 will display a ‘Links’ item on your WP dashboard menu …
(Links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding any new links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to your dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
The new category will now show in the list …
(Link Categories area)
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 name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something better suited to your business. This will not only make 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 …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding new links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, go to the main navigation menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you enter here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target section)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, 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 your link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. Your visitor can see the link information without leaving your website
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave your site and a new site 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link page)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Lucy 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. 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 a relationship between the current document and the linked document. For example, if you don’t want search engines to follow your link, type nofollow into this field. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, start, help, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is located 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 your 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).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private lets you toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like the link to display during certain times and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to your WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ table. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display or hide columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Hide or show – Table of links)
How To Edit Links
To modify links, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your links)
Change the link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all your links at once.
To delete individual links, hover your cursor over the link title you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to be removed, 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’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your 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, it’s time to learn how to display links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the main navigation menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your web browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget areas and drop it wherever you want the links to show up …
(Drag & drop your links widget to add it to your WordPress sidebar)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and feature lists of links throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Display links for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will display on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have added the widget to …
(An example of how links can be displayed on a 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 with 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 Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, filter, and sort features.
Sort Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Finding Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can find your links with the search function)
Filter Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. 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)
Additional Link 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 a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to consider using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your website 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 of your link collection so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about this handy plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to WordPress.
If you want to learn more about adding hyperlinks to your WordPress posts, refer to this article:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)