As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar section is sometimes 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.”
You can display a links section on your sidebar using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WP Links Manager – pre v.3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature is no longer part of the admin menu after WordPress v3.5)
If you have used an earlier version than v.3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – you will not see it on the menu.
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 WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to display the Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. The last time we 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WP administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after it has been installed …
After activation, WordPress restores the ‘Links’ functionality to the WP navigation menu area …
(Links menu section)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding new links. This way, you can assign new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the search-engine friendly 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 a link category description. (Optional)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories area)
The link category will display in the list …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something better suited to your business. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change 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 Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on the Update link Category button …
(Edit the link category)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘XYZ Products’ etc).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this 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 New Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address, Description fields)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug displays in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name with their mouse. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category link.
Also, 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 a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will exit 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)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Kellie Schwartz 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 of your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 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, help, start, index, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Add New Link screen – Advanced section)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL 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 be displayed next to the links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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).
Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button 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 link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, choose Links > All Links in the admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page. The Links table displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To view additional options in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide – List of links)
How To Edit Your Links
To edit links in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the navigation menu to bring up your table of links …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing links)
Change your link information …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up everything correctly (your 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)
Deleting Your Links
To remove links, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click Apply to remove all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your site.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
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 active widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress sidebar)
The Links widget offers various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar and footer. This allows you to create and feature multiple lists of links on your site …
(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 ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
When you have finished setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will appear on your website or blog’s sidebar …
(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 more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article on configuring widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sorting, filtering, and searching features.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links function)
Searching Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Find links function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter your 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 page)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, 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, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
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 all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your web site containing 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 for your links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Visit the plugin website to learn more this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in WordPress.
We have written a detailed article about creating hyperlinks in WordPress posts and pages. To learn more about this go here:
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum