As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.

WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or pages that display on your sidebar section 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 links on your website using the Link Manager plugin.

Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Link Manager section was kept hidden by default in new WordPress installations …

Before …

(WP Links Manager – pre v3.5)

After …

(Links – excluded from the menu after WP version 3.5)

If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your site installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – you will not see it displayed on the 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 the Links Manager section when you log into your WordPress admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)

Plugin Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin restores the default Links Manager, even if you update 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 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)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

How To Install The Plugin

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

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

Activate the plugin after installation …

After activation, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed in your WP navigation menu …

(WordPress links management menu)

Plugin Configuration

We recommend setting up link categories first before adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.

Link Categories

To create a link category, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …

(WordPress Links – Link Categories)

This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen.

Enter the following information:

• Name: Whatever you enter here displays as the link category name.
• 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 your link category description. (Optional)

Click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …

(Link Categories)

The category details will now show in the table …

(Link Categories screen)

Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …

(Default link category name)

You may want to change the default 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 assigned to the new category name …

(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)

To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …

(Editing the default link category)

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

(Quick Edit)

In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

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

(Link category description)

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

(Edit Link Category area)

Repeat the above process and add as many different link categories as your site needs.

Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add your links.

Adding New Links

To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the admin menu …

(Links Menu – Add New)

This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ page …

(Add New Link screen)

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

(Links page – Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

(Name, Web Addressand Description)

Enter the following information:

• Name: Whatever you type here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
• Slug: The slug appears in the web address 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)

Categories & Target

Select a Category and Target for your link …

(Categories & Target)

In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.

Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on:

• _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
• _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave your site and a new website or page will load in your browser window instead.
• _top opens the link 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) section)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Ayan Smith 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 work just fine. 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 lets you specify 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.

To learn more about XFN, visit this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section empty unless you have a reason to use them) …

(Add New Link page – Advanced fields)

The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is stored 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 the 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).

Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.

When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …

(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)

Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …

(Make your links private)

Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want a link to display during certain periods and hide it afterwards) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

To view a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to your dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …

(WordPress Links – All Links)

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

(Links table)

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

(Screen Options – List of links)

Show/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …

(Hide or display – Links screen)

Editing Your Link Information

To modify links in the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your 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)

Make changes to the link details …

(Edit Link screen)

After editing the 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 (your link will open in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your table …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

Removing Links

To remove links from the Link Manager, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …

(WP Links Menu – All Links)

The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.

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

(Deleting links)

To delete a number of links at once, either click on the check box next to every link that you would like to remove, 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 the Apply button to remove all selected links …

(Links: bulk-delete function)

All the links you have selected will be deleted …

(Link deletion notice)

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 website or blog.

Using The Links Widget

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

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

(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)

This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ page.

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 active widget sections and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …

(Adding a links widget to your widget bar)

The Links widget provides a number of options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …

(Link widget options)

You can add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific link sections throughout your site …

(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)

Display links for a specific category …

(Link widget options – Select Link Category)

You can sort links by Link rating, Link title, Link ID, or display links in Random order …

(Link widget settings – Sort by options)

When you have finished setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section will appear on your website or blog’s sidebar …

(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 comprehensive article on adding widgets here:

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filter, sort, and search functionality.

Sorting Links Function

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

(Sort your links)

Search Your Links

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

(Searching your links)

Filtering Links Function

You can filter links by category …

(Filter your links by link 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …

(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)

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

(Links filtered by link category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to use links extensively on your site, 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link Library WordPress Plugin)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin allows you to output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links plus notes and descriptions …

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

This useful plugin creates a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.

To learn more about Link Library:

• Link Library – WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in WordPress.

Go here to learn more about inserting HTML links into WordPress posts:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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