As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.

WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks 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 a links section on your sidebar or footer using the Link Manager plugin.

Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was removed …

Before …

(WordPress Links Menu – pre v.3.5)

After …

(The Links Manager is no longer part of the WordPress menu after WP v3.5)

If you’ve had an earlier version than v.3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Link 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 feature is not displayed when you log into your WordPress admin area, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager)

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

The Link Manager plugin restores the default Link Manager, 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 code 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links – WordPress Link Management Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description

This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

How To Install The Plugin

To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:

In the WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – 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 search results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

After activation, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ feature to the admin menu area …

(WordPress links menu section)

Setting Up Link Manager

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

Link Categories

To create a new link category, select Links > Link Categories in the WP dashboard navigation menu …

(Links – Link Categories)

The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your browser.

Enter information into the following fields:

• Name: Enter the category name.
• Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the 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 the Add New Link Category button to save …

(Link Categories)

Your link category will display in the list …

(Link Categories screen)

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

(Default link category name)

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

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

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

(Edit the default link category name)

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

(Editing the link category name)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).

Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …

(Link category description)

Add your link category description field and click Update when finished …

(Edit Link Category screen)

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

Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.

How To Add New Links

To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in the WP dashboard navigation menu …

(Links Menu – Add New)

This loads the Add New Link’ page in your browser …

(Add New Link page)

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

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page has the following sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

The first section lets you enter your link details …

(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description)

Type in information into the following sections:

• Name: Enter the category name.
• Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description.

Categories & Target

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

(Add New Link – Categories & Target area)

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

Also, 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 the link to open when clicked on:

• _blank means that 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 the 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 area provides some additional link functionality …

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

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Isla Smith and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and all your links will still work. XFN makes your links more understandable to some websites and search engines that use this information.

rel – This field specifies 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, type nofollow into this field.

You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section of the Add New Link’ page allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …

(Add New Link – Advanced fields)

The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:

• Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL 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 display next to your 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 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 are not essential.

When you are done adding information about your link, 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, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …

(Make your links private)

Making a link private lets you add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

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

(WP Links Menu – All Links)

You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The Links screen displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …

(Links screen)

Tip: To view or hide columns in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …

(Table of links – Screen Options)

Display/hide information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …

(Show/hide links)

Editing Your Link Information

To modify links, click on Links > All Links in the admin menu to bring up your table of links …

(WP Links Menu – All Links)

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

(Editing your links)

Change your link details …

(Edit Link screen)

After editing your link, you can:

• Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your table if you no longer require it …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

How To Delete Your Links

To delete a link, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu …

(Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser.

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

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

(Delete links)

To delete links in bulk, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …

(Deleting multiple links)

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

(Links: bulk-delete function)

All the links you have selected will be removed …

(Link deletion notification)

Using The Plugin

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

Using The Links Widget

Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.

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

(Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.

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

(Links widget)

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

(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)

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

(Link widget - settings)

You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and display a number of different lists of links throughout your site …

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

You can select a link category …

(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget options – Sort by options)

Once you are done configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will show up immediately on your sidebar, footer or whichever widgetized area you have placed the widget in …

(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 comprehensive article about configuring widgets. For more details, go here:

• Adding Widgets To Your Sidebar Area

Links Manager – Additional Information

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

Sort Links Function

You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(You can sort your links)

Search Links

Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …

(Search your links)

Filter Links Function

You can filter links by categories …

(Filter links by categories)

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 links in the ‘Links’ column …

(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)

This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …

(Links filtered by category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to add a lot of links to 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link Library)

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

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

(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)

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

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, go here:

• Link Library WordPress Plugin

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

We have written a comprehensive article on how to add hyperlinks in your WordPress content. To learn more about this go here:

• How To Use The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

***