As you continue to discover more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external websites or 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.”
You can display a featured links section on your sidebar or footer using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Links is no longer part of WordPress after WordPress v.3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and updated your installation, then the Links 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to display the Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for a while, 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP dashboard area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After the plugin has been activated, the ‘Links’ function is restored to the WP dashboard menu area …
(Links menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, select Links > Link Categories in your dashboard menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only without 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 …
(Link Categories)
Your new category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when creating a new link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that will make sense to readers. 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 …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as your site needs.
After 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 navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter details about your link …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category. Only use lower case letters without 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the content for that link. Your visitor can access the information without leaving your website
- _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. 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 screen – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Fifi Gould and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of 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 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you enter 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 screen – Advanced section)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- 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 RSS feed associated with the link will display next to your link.
- 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).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, select Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu …
(WP Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser. The Links page displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display additional fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Display/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links page – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links, click on Links > All Links in the main admin menu to bring up the links table …
(WP Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(WP 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 perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your links will be removed …
(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 learn how to display your links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of the widget bars in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like the links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to your sidebar using drag & drop)
The Links widget offers a number of options. 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 multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and display various links sorted by categories throughout your site …
(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 ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links should show on your site …
(An example of how 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 on using widgets. To learn more, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, search, and filter features.
Sorting Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Finding Links
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Find links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website or blog, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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 links.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links section, 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 become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article on how to add HTML links into your WordPress posts. Go here to learn more:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)