As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar area 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 blog using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before the release of version 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Links Manager – included in the menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your website is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on your 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 item is not visible when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to restore the Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation in order 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
In your WP admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed on the WP sidebar menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Configuring The Plugin
Before adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the dashboard menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your web browser.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL 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 your link category description. (Optional)
Click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories screen)
Your link category will be added to the list …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when adding a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically display under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
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 …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process and add as many new link categories as your site requires.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, go to your navigation menu and choose Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description – Add New Link)
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 search-engine friendly URL part of your link category name. 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 your link …
(Categories & Target section)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new website 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
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 Asher Schwartz and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. 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 specifies 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced area)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is stored and make sure that the 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 links.
- 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 into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not required.
When you have finished 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 select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want links to display during certain periods and hide them when they are no longer required) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your browser. The Links screen displays a list of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display additional columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Links page – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Your Links
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to your WP admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing link information)
Make changes to the link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To remove links, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all of your links at once.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the check box next to every item that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
The selected links will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
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 make links display on your website or blog.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the admin menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your 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 active widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your widget bar)
The Links widget includes various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific different link sections throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(Link widget settings – 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 setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links should show on your website’s sidebar …
(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 about configuring widgets. For more details, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sorting, searching, and filtering functions.
Sorting Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort links)
Searching Your Links
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(Searching links function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter links by link 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your site, or if you would like 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 links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
This plugin creates a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, and 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 link collection so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about using this useful plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a comprehensive article about inserting HTML links into your WordPress content. Go here to learn more about this:
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