As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.

In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar menu is often 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.”

The Links Manager lets you easily add and manage a links section to a widgetized theme.

Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was removed …

Before …

(WP Links Manager – pre v 3.5)

After …

(The Links Manager feature – excluded from WordPress after WordPress version 3.5)

If your website or blog previously displayed this feature, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on your 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 WP backend, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Plugin Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager

Description Of Plugin

Use this plugin to display the built-in Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, 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 site’s template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links)

Download URL

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/

Plugin Description

Simple Links attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.

How To Install Link Manager

To install the Link Manager plugin on your site, follow these instructions:

From the WP dashboard menu, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins – 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’ section will be added to the admin menu …

(Links menu section)

Plugin Configuration

We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding new links. This way, you can assign new links to the link category you have already created.

Link Categories

To create a new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in your WP navigation menu …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.

Type in the following information:

• Name: Enter the category name here.
• Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)

after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save …

(Link Categories)

Your link category will now show in the table …

(Link Categories screen)

Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for 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 better suited to your business. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …

(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)

To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …

(Edit the default link category name)

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 …

(Update Link Category)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).

Let’s create a link category description. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …

(Link category description)

Add your link category description field and click Update when finished …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as your site requires.

After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add your links.

Adding New Links

To add a new link, go to your WP dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …

(WordPress Links – Add New)

This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …

(Add New Link screen)

You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

This section lets you enter your link details …

(Name, Web Addressand Description)

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: What you type in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
• Slug: The slug is the URL bit 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 the link …

(Categories & Target)

In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.

Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where the link should open when clicked on:

• _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link. Your visitor can access the link information without leaving your website
• _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave your site and a new site 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 just ignore this option.

Link Relationship XFN

This area provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Ananya O’Malley and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with 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 defines 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, help, index, start, etc.

You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …

(Advanced link settings – Add New Link)

The Advanced section contain the following fields:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image 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 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 into the above fields or just leave this section blank.

When you have finished adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …

(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)

Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …

(Make your links private)

Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like the link to display during certain times and hide it afterwards) …

(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)

To see all the links you have created, go to your WP admin menu and choose Links > All Links …

(WordPress Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …

(Table of links)

Tip: To display additional information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …

(Links screen – Screen Options)

Show/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …

(Show/hide links)

Editing Links

To modify links in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu to bring up the table of links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …

(Editing your link information)

Change your link …

(Edit Link screen)

After you’re done editing the link, you can:

• Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure 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 from your list if you no longer require it …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

Deleting Links

To delete links from the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …

(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)

You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all your links at once.

To delete individual links, hover over the link title you want removed and click Delete …

(Deleting your links)

To delete links in bulk, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …

(Delete multiple links)

Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …

(Links: bulk-delete function)

All the links you have selected will be removed …

(Deleted links notice)

Plugin Usage

Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links on your website or blog.

Links Widget

Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the admin menu and select Appearance > Widgets …

(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)

This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.

You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …

(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag and drop)

The Links widget offers various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …

(Link widget - settings)

You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and feature lists of links throughout your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)

Display a list of items for a specific category …

(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)

You can sort links by Link title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …

(Link widget options – Sort by options)

After configuring your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links will show on your sidebar menu …

(An example of how 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 on widgets. Go here to learn more:

• Using WordPress Widgets

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with filter, sort, and search functions.

Sort Your Links

To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(Sort links)

Finding Links

Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …

(Finding links)

Filtering Links Function

You can filter links by category …

(Filtering your links by link 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …

(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)

This displays 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 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link Library Plugin)

Download Plugin URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/

Plugin Description

The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …

(List of links created with Link library. Image: Link Library plugin site.)

This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, plus all links listed in 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 so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.

To learn more about the benefits of using this powerful plugin, go here:

• Link Library WP Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to other websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.

We have written a detailed article about how to easily insert links into WordPress posts & pages. Go here to learn more:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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