As you continue to discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar area 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 site using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Prior to the release of WordPress v.3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager – included in the admin menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager feature – no longer included in WordPress after WordPress v 3.5)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 and upgraded your installation, 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add it by installing a plugin. This tutorial will show you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to display the built-in Links menu on your dashboard, 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 code 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WordPress admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will be displayed on the sidebar menu screen …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Setup
Before adding any new links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your WP navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up 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)
Click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding 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 your readers. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link 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, and click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process and add as many different link categories as you need.
After configuring your link categories, you can being adding new links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the main admin menu …
(Links – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links page …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter details about your link …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description section)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL bit of your link category. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target fields – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate web browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to access the information without leaving your website
- _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) – Add New Link page)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Pranav Silva and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, start, index, help, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced section)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is located 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 display next to your link.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
- Rating: 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 your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link 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 Blogroll section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen. The Links screen displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To show or hide fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Show/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Your Links
To edit links in the Link Manager, go to the main admin menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Edit the link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To remove links, select Links > All Links in the WP navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all your links.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(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 display your links on your website or blog.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will display in your web browser.
You will see 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 the widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget offers various options. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to add and display a number of links throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can add and display links for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will show up immediately on your website’s sidebar menu …
(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 detailed article about adding widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using search, filter, and sort 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 links)
Find Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(You can easily search links using the search function)
Filter Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by link 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links grouped 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 would like 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 links.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links plus notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links section, plus 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 any additions made to to your link library.
Visit the plugin site to learn more about this useful plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article on inserting HTML links into WordPress. For more details, go here:
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