As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or web pages displayed on your sidebar menu.
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 add and manage a links section to your sidebar area (e.g. a “Recommended Resources” section) using widgets.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WP Links Menu – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature is no longer part of WordPress after WP v.3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version than 3.5 and updated your installation, then the Link 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 you can’t see a Links section on your main menu when you log into your WP backend, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to restore the built-in Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin 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
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WP admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after it has been installed …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will get added to your WP navigation menu area …
(WordPress links menu)
Configuring Link Manager
Before adding any new links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the WP dashboard menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL 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. (Optional)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories area)
Your new category will now show in the list …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for a new 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 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 the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process and add as many different link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in your WP dashboard menu …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address, Description fields – Add New Link page)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category name. Use lowercase letters only and do not include 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 your link …
(Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already added, 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 the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new website 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link page)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Homer Jones and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will work just fine. 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 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.
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 leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 can display next to the 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 into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not required.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to 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 add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display additional fields in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Hide or display – Links page)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to your dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the links table …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing links)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all your links.
To delete individual links, hover over the link you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your links will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links on your website.
Using The Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in your WP dashboard 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 the widget to one of the widget areas in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress sidebar using drag and drop)
The Links widget offers a number of settings. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This lets you create and display specific a number of link lists throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of links for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will show up immediately 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 comprehensive article about adding widgets. For more details:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filter, search, and sort functionality.
Sort Links
To sort links, hover your 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 your links)
Finding Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Search links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering links by 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 …
(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 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 a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin lets you output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site that contains a list of all of 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 of your links that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.
Go here to learn more about adding links into WordPress:
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