As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or pages that display on your sidebar menu 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.”
The Links feature lets you add and manage external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar area (e.g. a “Top 3 Resources” section) using widgets.
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 …
(The Links Manager – part of the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)
After …
(Links – excluded from WordPress after WP v3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version than v3.5 and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not appear 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 you can’t see the Link Manager section when you log into your WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin restores the default Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds 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 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “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 displays a ‘Links’ section in the sidebar menu …
(WordPress links management menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
Before adding any new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your web browser.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address 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 a link category description. (Optional)
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories area)
Your category details will be added to the list …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a 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 better suited to your business. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced 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 …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many new link categories as you need.
After configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in your dashboard menu …
(Links – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description – Add New Link)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO 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 your 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
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already added, 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 how the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new, separate web browser window will open up to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit your site and a new website or page will load in your web browser window instead.
- _top opens links at the top level of the frame system if you’re using frames. Don’t worry about this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Hugo Gould and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will still work. XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some sites and search engines that use this information.
rel – This field specifies the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute defines a 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, start, 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 leave these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link)
The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:
- 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 RSS feed associated with the link will display next to your 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank.
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 save your new link)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle its 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 the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ page. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view additional columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links page – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify a link in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu to bring up your table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your links)
Change the link …
(Edit Link page)
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 the link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to your WP admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The selected links 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 site.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up 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 your active widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget offers various configurable settings. You can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you add and feature specific links on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should now display on your site’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 help using widgets? To learn more about adding widgets, see this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, search, and filter functions.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Find Your Links
You can find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Finding your links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter your links by categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website, 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to display a list of your link categories and a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library creates a page on your website that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 of your links that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Visit the plugin site to learn more about using this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to your WordPress site.
We have written a comprehensive article about adding links in WordPress posts & pages. Go here to learn more about this:
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