As you continue to discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar is often referred to as a blogroll.
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 Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Links Manager feature – part of the WordPress admin menu until the release of WordPress version 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – no longer displayed in the dashboard menu after WordPress v 3.5)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 installed and updated your installation, then the Links 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 the Links item is not visible when you log into your WP backend, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin restores the Links menu on your dashboard, 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 some time, 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 – Link Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WP admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Once the plugin has been activated, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ section on your sidebar menu …
(Links menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding any new links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, select Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: What you type in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine friendly 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. (Optional)
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
The category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something better suited to your business. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Quick Edit)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many new link categories as your site needs.
After setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in your WP admin menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. This lets your visitors see the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your 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. 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 …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
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 Krishna Larsson and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of your links will still work. 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 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, type nofollow into this field. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced section – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image 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 display next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
- Rating: You can 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 have finished adding your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
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) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added, go to your navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To show or hide information in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Display/hide information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Link Information
To modify a link, go to your admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the links screen …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Change your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your link table if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To delete a link, click on Links > All Links in the main admin menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
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 that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the check boxes next to individual links that you want removed, 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)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to delete all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected 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.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the dashboard menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your active widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to your WordPress sidebar)
The Links widget offers various options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This allows you to add and display link categories on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After configuring your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section 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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about using widgets. For more details, go here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functions.
Sort Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort links)
Finding Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(You can find your links using the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by category …
(Filter your links by 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin allows you to display a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 of your links that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in WordPress.
We have also created a detailed article about how to easily add links to WordPress posts here:
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