As you continue to discover more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other sites or pages that display on your sidebar area 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 featured links section on your website using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Prior to the release of WordPress version 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WP Links Manager – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – no longer included in WordPress after WP v 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version than v.3.5 and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would be removed, unless you have 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 you can’t see a Links item on the main menu when you log into your WP backend, you can add it via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to restore the default 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 template 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WP admin 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 activation, WordPress restores the ‘Links’ feature to the admin menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Configuring The Plugin
Before adding new links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the WP admin menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you type here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears 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 a link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …
(Link Categories)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, 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 edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
Change 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 …
(Edit the default link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can being adding your links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, go to your dashboard menu and choose Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen 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 the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address, Description section – Add New Link)
Type in information into the following fields:
- 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. 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a separate browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. This lets your visitors access the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on the 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Reyansh Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of your links will work just fine. 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 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 this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Add New Link page – Advanced area)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL 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 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button 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 when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain periods and hide them afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to the dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your web browser. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display additional columns in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links page)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(List of links – Hide or display screen options)
How To Edit Link Information
To modify a link in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu to bring up the list of links …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Make any changes you want to your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your link table …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all of your links.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkbox next to every link that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links message)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display your links on your website.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the navigation menu …
(WP Appearance – 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)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget bars in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and feature links on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …
(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 options – Sorting options)
Once you are done configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will show up immediately on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have placed the links widget in …
(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 with widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on using widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, filter, and search functions.
Sort Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort links)
Searching Your Links
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(You can find your links with the search function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter links by link 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link 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 links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at 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 allows you to display a list of your link categories and a complete list of links plus descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, 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 for your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article on how to create HTML links in your WordPress posts. Go here to learn more about this:
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group