As you continue to discover more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.

In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar menu 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 manage a blogroll using the Links menu in your WP Dashboard. These links will then display on your sidebar or footer once you add the Links widget.

Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new installations …

Before …

(WP Links Manager – pre v.3.5)

After …

(The Link 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 upgraded your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, 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 the Link Manager is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager

Plugin Description

Use this plugin to restore the default Link Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 site’s template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/

Plugin Description

This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

Plugin Installation

To install the Link Manager plugin on your site, do the following:

From the WordPress administration menu, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

Find the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

After activating the plugin, a ‘Links’ section will be added to your dashboard menu area …

(WordPress links management menu)

Setting Up The Plugin

Before you start adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to a link category you have already created.

Link Categories

To create a new link category, go to the main navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.

Type in the following information:

• Name: Enter the link category name here.
• Slug: The slug is the web address part of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)

after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save …

(Link Categories)

Your category details will be added to the table …

(Link Categories)

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)

You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear under the new category name …

(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)

To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …

(Quick Edit)

Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …

(Edit the default link category name)

In our example, the link category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …

(You can add/edit the category description)

Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat this process to add as many link categories as your site needs.

Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding new links.

Adding New Links

To create a new link, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …

(Links Menu – Add New)

The ‘Add New Link’ screen will display in your browser …

(Add New Link screen)

You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …

(Links – Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

(Add New Link – Name, Web Address, Description area)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Enter the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the web address part 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 your link category description. (Optional)

Categories & Target

After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the link …

(Categories & Target fields)

In the Categories section, select a link category you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.

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 by visitors:

• _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link.
• _none means that when visitors click on your 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then just ignore this option.

Link Relationship XFN

This section provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN))

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Paige Fields and you link to her 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 sites and search engines that use this information.

rel – This field specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute defines a 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.

You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section allows you to enter 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 area – Add New Link page)

The Advanced section contain the following fields:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, 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 be displayed next to your link.
• Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 blank, as these fields are not essential for links to work.

When you are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …

(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)

Note: If you select 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 link visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want links to display during certain periods and hide them when not required) …

(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)

To view a list of all the links you have added, select Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu …

(Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …

(Links screen)

Tip: To display or hide information in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …

(Table of links – Screen Options)

Enable/disable information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …

(Table of links – Hide or display screen options)

Editing Link Information

To edit links in the Link Manager, go to your dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the list of links …

(Links – All Links)

Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …

(Editing link information)

Edit the link …

(Edit Link screen)

After editing the link, you can:

• Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your 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)

Removing Links

To remove links from the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the dashboard menu …

(Links Menu – All Links)

The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all your links.

To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want to remove and click on Delete …

(Deleting links)

To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check box next to each link that you would like 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)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click Apply to delete all selected links …

(Bulk-deletion of links)

All the links you have selected will be deleted …

(Link deletion message)

Plugin Usage

Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links on your site.

Links Widget

The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP admin menu and select Appearance > Widgets …

(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your browser.

You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …

(Drag & drop the links widget to add it to your sidebar)

The Links widget includes various options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …

(Link widget - configurable options)

You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to add and display a number of different link lists throughout your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)

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 – Sort by options)

When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links will show on your website’s sidebar …

(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 with widgets? We have written a detailed article about widgets. Go here to learn more:

• Adding WordPress Widgets To The Site

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functions.

Sorting Links Function

To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(Sorting links)

Finding Your Links

Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …

(Finding links)

Filter Links

You can filter links by link categories …

(Filtering your links by categories)

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 page)

This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …

(Links filtered by category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you would like to add a ‘Links’ page to your site (i.e. not just add a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links.

Link Library

(Link Library WordPress Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/

Plugin Description

This plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …

(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)

This plugin can be used to create a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links section, 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 of your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.

To learn more about the Link Library plugin:

• Link Library – WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.

If you want to learn more about creating hyperlinks in WordPress posts and pages, see this article:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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