As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to external sites or web pages displayed on your sidebar section.
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 add a set of links using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will then display on your blog once you add the Links widget.
Prior to the release of v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager feature was part of the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)
After …
(Post v.3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager)
If your site had the Link Manager installed, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your installation of WordPress is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on the dashboard 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin displays the Links feature on your dashboard, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to restore the hidden feature. The last time we checked, this plugin had not been updated for a while, 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)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, do the following:
From the WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, 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 activation, a ‘Links’ section will be displayed in your dashboard menu …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
Before you start adding new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the WP navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will load in your web browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of your 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)
The new category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change the default link category name to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category name)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the link category name)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced 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 …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as your site requires.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to the WP admin menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address, Description – Add New Link screen)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a 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 fields)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
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 the link to open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information for that link. This allows your visitors to see the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks 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. 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 Miles Silva and you link to his 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 all your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links 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 a 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, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- 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 will be displayed next to your links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
- Rating: You can 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 in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To view additional options in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Links
To edit links, go to your navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Make any changes you want to the link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete a link, go to the WP admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all of your links.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check box next to every link that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(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 make links display on your site.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see 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 page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget provides various options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget settings)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to add and feature specific link categories throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, 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 links will become visible on your site’s sidebar menu …
(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 comprehensive article about widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using search, filter, and sort features.
Sorting Links Function
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 …
(You can easily sort links)
Searching Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can search links using the search function)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering your links by categories)
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 a lot of links to your site, or if you would like to add a ‘Links’ page 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 WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, and all links listed in 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 link collection so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
For more information about the benefits of using this handy plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to your WordPress site.
We have written a comprehensive article on inserting HTML links into WordPress posts. For more info, see this article:
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group