As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other 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 add a link section using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will then display on your sidebar if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v 3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WP Links Feature – pre v 3.5)
After …
(Links – no longer shown in WordPress after WordPress v 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and updated your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have 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 displayed 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 blogroll 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 built-in Links feature on your WordPress dashboard, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template 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 Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WP Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WP admin area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
After activation, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ function to your WP admin menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your admin menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will display in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of your link category. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
Your new category will be added to the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the link category name)
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)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as you need.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in your WP navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link screen – Name, Web Address, Description fields)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you type in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of the link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category link.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information associated with the link. This lets your visitors access the information without leaving your website
- _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 the link at the top level of the frame system if you’re using frames. Don’t worry about this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Billie Larsson and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of your links will work just fine. XFN makes your links 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 specifies the relationship 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, start, help, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Add New Link – Advanced fields)
The Advanced link settings section includes 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 located and make sure that the 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 links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
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 Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, click on Links > All Links in the main navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen. The table of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional fields in the list of links, 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 ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(List of links – Hide or display screen options)
How To Edit Links
To modify links, choose Links > All Links in the navigation menu to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing link information)
Edit your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After 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 the link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your list …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove links, go to your WP admin menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check box next to each item that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Using The 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 website.
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 dashboard menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display 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 section to display …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag & drop)
The Links widget offers a number of configurable settings. For example, 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 - settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and feature link categories throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
Once you are done configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section will become visible on your sidebar, footer or wherever you add the widget to …
(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 more help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, filter, and search features.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Search Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can search links with the search function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering links by link categories)
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 category 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)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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 – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site containing all 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 for your link collection so that your site users can be made aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.
We have written a detailed article on adding HTML links to your WordPress posts & pages. Go here to learn more about this:
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