As you continue to discover more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to external sites or pages 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 manage a blogroll using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will display on your website once you add the Links widget.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager feature displayed in the menu until the release of WP v3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager feature – excluded from WordPress after WP v3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to display 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 code to WordPress 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
In your WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select 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 …
Once the plugin is activated, the ‘Links’ feature is restored to your WP sidebar menu area …
(Links menu section)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the main admin menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your web browser.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter in this field displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine 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 your link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …
(Link Categories screen)
Your new category will display in the table …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a new 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 better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear 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 …
(Quick Edit)
Replace 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 category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many new link categories as your site requires.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the navigation menu …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new web browser window will open up to display the content associated with the 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 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link page – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Aiden Larsson 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 of your links will work just fine. XFN makes your links 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 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, start, help, index, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced link settings section contains 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 link’s RSS feed will display next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential for links to work.
When you have finished adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all your links, select Links > All Links in the main navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser. The Links page displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To display additional columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Enable/disable information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links table – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To edit links in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu to bring up your links table …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Edit your link information …
(Edit Link page)
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 its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your link table if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to the main admin menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all links at once.
To delete links individually, hover over the link that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Link deletion message)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your site.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your active widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to your WordPress sidebar)
The Links widget provides various settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to add and feature links 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 settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
After configuring your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should now be visible on your sidebar menu …
(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? To learn more about widgets, refer to this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching features.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links function)
Find Links
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Find your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter your links by category)
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 links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your site, or if you intend 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.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image: Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, and all links listed in 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 of your links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about this plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
We have written a detailed article about adding HTML hyperlinks into WordPress. Go here to learn more:
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum