As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other sites 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 feature lets you easily add external links to your WordPress sidebar section (e.g. a “Resources” section) using a widget.
Prior to the release of WordPress v.3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WP Links Menu – pre v3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If you were using the Links feature in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your website 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 the Links feature is not visible 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 blogroll links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
You can use this plugin to display the Link Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version 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 the Link Manager plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
From your WP admin area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”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’ item will get added to the WP sidebar menu area …
(Links menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before adding links, we recommend setting up your link categories. 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, go to your dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit 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.
Click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories area)
The link category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to 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 the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the default link category name)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in the WP admin menu …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address& Description area – Add New Link screen)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the URL of the link category. 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.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target fields)
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 link.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how the link should open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a separate web browser window will open up to display the information for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new site 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Harry Schwartz and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links 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 specifies the relationship 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link page)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is located 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: Add notes about the link in this section 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).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.
When you have finished adding your new link information, 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 Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private lets you toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all your links, go to the admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view additional options in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links page)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Links
To edit links, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu to bring up your links table …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your links)
Change your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table of links if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click Apply to delete all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links notice)
Plugin Usage
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.
Using The 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 your admin menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ page.
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 areas in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want the links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget includes various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to create and feature different link lists throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …
(Link widget settings – 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. A link section should become visible on your 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 more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article about widgets. For more details:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, search, and filter functionality.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your cursor 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 links)
Finding Your Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Searching your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link 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 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin lets you display a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your site containing all the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 links so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here to learn more this great plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress site.
To learn more about how to easily insert links into your WordPress posts & pages, refer to this article:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)