As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other websites or web pages displayed on your sidebar area.
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 Manager lets you add and manage external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar menu (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using a widget.
Before the release of v.3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v.3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Feature – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – no longer displayed in the WordPress menu after WordPress v 3.5)
If you have used an earlier version than 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WP installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – you will not see it displayed 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 a Links item on your main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it by installing a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin displays the Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After you’ve activated the plugin, a ‘Links’ section will get added to your dashboard menu area …
(Links management menu)
Configuring The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding any new links. This way, when adding 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 menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: What you enter here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL bit of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
Your new category will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when creating 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 visitors. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the default link category)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Related Products’ etc).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process and add as many different link categories as your site needs.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, select Links > Add New in the WP admin menu …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your 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 page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part 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 your link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target fields)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Next, 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 by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new window will open up in their browser to display the content for that link. Your visitor will be able to access the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will exit your site and a new site 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. Ignore this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Otis Cooper and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. 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 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, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Add New Link screen – Advanced fields)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 can be displayed next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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).
Type in your information in 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 Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private lets you toggle their visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, select Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your web browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display additional fields in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Show/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify a link in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the main navigation menu to bring up the links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your links)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To delete a link, click on Links > All Links in the WP navigation menu …
(WP Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check boxes next to individual links that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion notification)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your website or blog.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the dashboard navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget bars and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …
(Drag & drop the links widget to add it to your sidebar)
The Links widget offers a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to add and feature link categories on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link title, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
After setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links will display on your sidebar menu …
(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:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, searching, and sorting functionality.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Find Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Search links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering links by category)
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 brings up a list of all links listed 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 want to add a page containing a list of links 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 your links.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to display 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 documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 for your links that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the benefits of using this powerful plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to external websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article about how to add HTML hyperlinks to WordPress posts and pages. For more details:
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