As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar area.
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 featured links section on your blog using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WP Links Menu – pre v 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you have used an earlier version than v.3.5 and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would be 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 Manager is not visible when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to display the Links 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, 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 the plugin is activated, a ‘Links’ item will get added to the navigation menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Plugin Setup
Before adding any new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, select Links > Link Categories in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories area)
The link category will be added to the list …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating 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 your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display 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 item and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
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 Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Resources’ etc).
Let’s add 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 description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken 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 screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description – Add New Link)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the URL of the link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. Your visitor will be able to see the information without leaving your website
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Ivy Anderson and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and 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 is used to define what relationship exists 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords using spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link page)
The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL and make sure that your 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: 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
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 tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to toggle their visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to the WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table. The Links table displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To show or hide information in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Show/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(List of links – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Link Information
To modify links, select Links > All Links in the main admin menu to bring up the links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing link information)
Change the link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the 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 its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your link table …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To delete links, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all of your links.
To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to delete all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
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 your links on your site.
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 main dashboard menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will load in your web browser.
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 widget sections and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag & drop)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget settings)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you add and display several lists of links on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display a specific list of items …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will now be visible on your sidebar menu …
(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 using widgets. To learn more, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, searching, and filtering functionality.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Find Links Function
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Find links function)
Filter Your Links
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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you would like 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 look at 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
Link Library gives you the ability to display a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 link collection so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to your WordPress site.
We have written a detailed article about how to easily add links to your WordPress content. Go here to learn more about this:
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now