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 area 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.”

The Links Manager lets you add external hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.

Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …

Before …

(The Link Manager – included in the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)

After …

(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)

If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 installed and updated 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 menu section is not displayed when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description

This plugin displays the Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to WordPress 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 this plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links Plugin)

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

Plugin Installation

Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.

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

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Select 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 …

After the plugin has been activated, a ‘Links’ item will be added to the WP dashboard menu area …

(Links menu section)

Setting Up Link Manager

We recommend setting up link categories first before adding 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, go to your WP navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.

Type in information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the link category name here.
• Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display your link category description.

after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button …

(Link Categories)

The category details will be added to the table …

(Link Categories)

Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a new link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …

(Default link category)

You may want to change this to something that will make sense to site visitors. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically appear under the new category name …

(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)

To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …

(Quick Edit)

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

(Quick Edit)

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

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

(You can add/edit your category description)

Enter your link category description field and click Update when you’re done …

(Edit Link Category page)

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

After setting up your link categories, you can add your links.

How To Add New Links

To create a new link, click on Links > Add New in the main dashboard navigation menu …

(Links Menu – Add New)

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

(Add New Link screen)

You can also reach this screen 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

This section is where you enter your link details …

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

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the category name here.
• Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of your 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 new link …

(Categories & Target fields – Add New Link screen)

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

Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how the link should open when clicked on by visitors:

• _blank means that when visitors click on your link, a new web browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the link information without leaving your site
• _none means that when visitors click on the 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 ignore this option.

Link Relationship XFN

This section provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) area – Add New Link)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Olivia 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 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 specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute defines 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, index, start, help, etc.

To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:

• 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 ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …

(Add New Link page – Advanced section)

The Advanced section fields are as follows:

• Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL and make sure that the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
• RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link can display next to the link.
• Notes: Add notes about the link in this section 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 into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential for links to work.

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

(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)

Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …

(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)

Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …

(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)

To see all your links, go to the dashboard menu and select Links > All Links …

(Links – All Links)

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

(Links table)

Tip: To display additional options in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen Options – Links page)

Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …

(Links page – Hide or show screen options)

How To Edit Your Link Information

To edit a link, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu to bring up the list of links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …

(Editing your links)

Edit the link information …

(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 view your link and check that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

How To Remove Links

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

(Links Menu – All Links)

This brings up the ‘Links’ screen in your browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all your links at once.

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

(Delete your links)

To delete multiple links, either click on the checkbox next to each link that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …

(Deleting multiple links)

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

(Links: bulk-deletion function)

All the links you have selected will be removed …

(links deleted notification)

Plugin Usage

Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your website or blog.

Links Widget

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

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

(Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your browser.

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

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links to show up …

(Drag & drop your links widget to add it to a widgetized menu)

The Links widget provides a number of options. 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 - configurable settings)

You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar and footer. This lets you add and feature different link sections on your site …

(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)

Select a link category to display links for a specific category …

(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 settings – Sorting options)

When you have finished setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should become visible on your sidebar, footer or whichever widget-ready area you have placed the widget in …

(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 using widgets. Go here to learn more about this:

• Adding And Configuring WordPress Widgets On Your Blog Sidebar Navigation Menu

Links Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sort, filter, and search functions.

Sort Links

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

(You can sort links)

Finding Your Links

Find links using the ‘Search Links’ function …

(Finding your links)

Filtering Your 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 …

(searching and filtering 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 intend 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 your links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link Library)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

The Link Library plugin allows you to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with descriptions and notes …

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

Link Library creates a page on your web site that contains 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 for your links so that your site users can be made aware of additions to your link library.

To learn more about the Link Library plugin:

• Link Library Plugin For WordPress

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

We have written a comprehensive article about how to easily add HTML links into your WordPress content. If you are interested in learning more here:

• How To Use The Internal Linking Tool In WordPress

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