As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar 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 links on your site using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WP Links Manager Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Links – no longer included in the dashboard menu after WP v.3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 and upgraded 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 item is not displayed when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add it via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Link Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WP dashboard menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After activation, the ‘Links’ feature is restored to the navigation menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding any new links. 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 new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your 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.
Click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can understand. 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 …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the link category name)
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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced 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’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process to add as many new link categories as your site needs.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, go to the WP dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address, Description area – Add New Link page)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the 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 your new link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve 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 your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. Your visitor will be able to see the information without leaving your website
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will exit your site and a new website 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Jackson Larsson and you link to his blog, you would probably check 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 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 the relationship 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced fields)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- 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 link’s RSS feed will display next to your 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 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.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To show or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Links table – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide – Links screen)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to the navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Make the changes you want to your link …
(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 check that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your list if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, go to the navigation menu and choose Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkbox next to every item that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(Deleted links message)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website or blog.
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 your navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will see 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 screen and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress widget bar using drag and drop)
The Links widget includes a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you add and feature specific link sections throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display a specific list of items …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring the links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links should show up immediately on your website or blog’s sidebar menu …
(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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about configuring widgets. To learn more, go here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using search, sort, and filter functionality.
Sort 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 sort your links)
Search Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Search links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by link 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter 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 intend 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 links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin documentation.)
This plugin creates a page on your site that contains a list of all of 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 of your link collection that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
For more information about this WordPress plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
If you want to learn more about adding HTML hyperlinks to WordPress posts, refer to this article:
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