As you continue to discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.

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

You can display links on your blog using the Link Manager plugin.

Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …

Before …

(Links – included in the dashboard menu until the release of WP version 3.5)

After …

(Post v 3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)

If you’ve had an earlier version than v3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you’ve 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 the Links item is not visible when you log into your WordPress backend, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)

Download URL

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

Description

The Link Manager plugin displays the default Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to your installation in order 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description

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

How To Install The Plugin

To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:

From your WordPress dashboard menu, go to Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins – Add New)

Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

Once you have activated the plugin, WordPress restores the ‘Links’ functionality to the WP dashboard menu area …

(WordPress links menu)

Plugin Setup

Before adding 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 link category, go to the dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …

(WordPress Links – Link Categories)

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

Type in information into the following fields:

• Name: Enter the category name.
• Slug: The slug appears in the URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description.

Click the Add New Link Category button …

(Link Categories)

Your category details will be added to the list …

(Link Categories)

Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …

(Default link category)

You may want to change this default link category name to something that your visitors can understand. 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 …

(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)

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

(Quick Edit)

Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on the Update link Category button …

(Quick Edit)

In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).

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

(Link category description)

Enter your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …

(Edit Link Category area)

Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as you need.

After configuring your link categories, you can add new links.

How To Add Links

To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in your navigation menu …

(Links – Add New)

The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …

(Add New Link page)

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 includes the following sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

(Add New Link – Name, Web Address, Description)

Type in information into the following fields:

• Name: Whatever you enter in this field will display as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of the link category name. Only use lower case letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description.

Categories & Target

Select a Category and Target for the new link …

(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)

In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.

Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:

• _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information for that link.
• _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave 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. Ignore 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))

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

XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and all your links will still work. 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 lets you specify the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute specifies a 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 this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section lets you 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) …

(Add New Link – Advanced link settings)

The Advanced section fields are as follows:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an 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 be displayed next to your link.
• Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
• Rating: Add a rating score to the link if you would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).

Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.

When you are done adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …

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

Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …

(Make your links private)

Making a link private lets you add a link and then toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

To see all the links you have created, click on Links > All Links in your dashboard menu …

(WP Links – All Links)

This brings up the ‘Links’ page. The table of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …

(Table of links)

Tip: To display or hide columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …

(Links screen – Screen Options)

Enable/disable information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …

(Show/hide links)

How To Edit Your Links

To modify links, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu to bring up the list of links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link 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 see your link and check that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link from your link table …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

Deleting Links

To remove links from the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu …

(Links Menu – All Links)

This brings up the ‘Links’ page.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.

To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …

(Deleting your links)

To delete links in bulk, either tick the check boxes next to individual links that you want to delete, 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)

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

(Links: bulk-deletion function)

The links you have selected will be deleted …

(links deleted notification)

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 make links display 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 WP navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …

(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)

This loads the ‘Widgets’ screen in your web browser.

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

(Links widget)

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

(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area using drag & drop)

The Links widget includes various settings. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …

(Link widget - settings)

You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This allows you to add and display a number of link lists on your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)

Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …

(Link widget options – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget settings – Sorting options)

After setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should show up immediately on your website …

(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? We have written a detailed article on widgets. For more info, see this article:

• Adding And Configuring WordPress Widgets In Your Website

Link Manager – Additional Information

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

Sort Your Links

You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …

(Sort your links)

Find Your Links

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

(Search links)

Filtering Links Function

You can filter links by link category …

(Filtering your links by category)

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 links in the ‘Links’ column …

(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)

This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …

(Links filtered by category)

Additional Link Options

If you plan to use links extensively on your site, or if you want 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 your links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)

Download Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

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

(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)

This plugin creates a page on your site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, and 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 for your link collection that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.

Visit this website to learn more about this great plugin:

• Link Library – WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in WordPress.

We have written a detailed article on adding hyperlinks in your WordPress content. Go here to learn more about this:

• How To Use The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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