As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.

In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar section 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 manage a link section using the Links menu in your WP Dashboard. These links will display on your sidebar or footer once you add the Links widget.

Before the release of v 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …

Before …

(WP Links Manager – pre v3.5)

After …

(Links – excluded from the menu after WP version 3.5)

If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your site is new, then this function will become invisible – you won’t see it 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 item is not displayed when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. This tutorial will show you how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager Plugin)

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

Use this plugin to restore the Links 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 template code to restore the hidden feature. The last time we checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, 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 template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links Plugin)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

Plugin Installation

To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the step-by-step instructions below:

From your WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …

(Plugins Menu – Add New)

Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …

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

Activate the plugin …

After activating the plugin, a ‘Links’ item will show up on the navigation menu screen …

(Links management menu section)

Configuring Link Manager

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

Link Categories

To create a new link category, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …

(Links – Link Categories)

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

Type in information into the following fields:

• Name: Whatever you type here displays as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the web address part of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without 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 page)

Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …

(Default link category name)

You may want to change this to something that your visitors can relate to. 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 display under the new category name …

(Consider changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)

To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …

(Edit the link category name)

Replace 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 Update Link Category …

(Update Link Category)

Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Partners’ etc).

Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …

(You can add/edit your category description)

Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update finished to save your settings …

(Edit Link Category area)

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

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

Adding New Links

To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in your WP navigation menu …

(WordPress Links – Add New)

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

(Add New Link screen)

You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

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

Enter information into the following fields:

• Name: What you type here will display as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug shows up in the web address of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display your link category description.

Categories & Target

Select a Category and Target for your link …

(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target fields)

In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add 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 you want your link to open when visitors click on it:

• _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new browser window will open up to display the content for that link. This allows your visitors to see the information without leaving your site
• _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave your site and a new website 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 section provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) fields)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with William Anderson and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.

XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section 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 specifies 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.

To learn more about XFN, visit this site:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …

(Advanced link settings)

The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 will display 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 blank, as these fields are not required.

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

(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)

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

(Make your links private)

Making links private allows you to add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain times and hide them when not required) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

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

(Links Menu – All Links)

This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser. The Links screen displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …

(Table of links)

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

(Screen Options – Links page)

Display/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …

(Links page – Hide or display screen options)

How To Edit Link Information

To edit a link, choose Links > All Links in the main admin menu to bring up the links table …

(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)

Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …

(Editing your link information)

Edit the link information …

(Edit Link screen)

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

• Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
• Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
• Click Delete to delete the link if you no longer require it …

(Edit Link: Update Link button)

How To Remove Links

To delete a link from the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

This loads the ‘Links’ table in your browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.

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

(Deleting your links)

To delete multiple links, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …

(Deleting multiple links)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply 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 configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display links on your site.

Links Widget

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

To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in your WP dashboard menu …

(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ screen will load 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 widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you want the links section to display …

(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to your widget bar)

The Links widget provides a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …

(Link widget - configurable options)

You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and feature specific link categories throughout your site …

(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)

Select a link category to display a specific list of items …

(Link widget options – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget options – Sort by options)

After configuring the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A link section should appear on your website’s sidebar …

(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 more help using widgets? We have written a detailed article about using widgets. Go here to learn more:

• How To Add WordPress Widgets To Your Website

Link Manager – Additional Information

If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, filter, and search functionality.

Sort Links Function

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

(Sorting your links)

Finding Your Links

You can find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …

(You can find your links with the search function)

Filter Links Function

You can filter links by category …

(Filtering your links by link categories)

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 category)

Links – Additional Options

If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you intend 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.

Link Library

(Link Library WordPress Plugin)

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …

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

This useful 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 of your links so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.

Visit this site for more details about this powerful plugin:

• Link Library Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress site.

We have written a detailed article about creating hyperlinks in WordPress posts and pages. Go here to learn more:

• Using The WordPress Internal Linking Tool

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