As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages that display on your sidebar 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.”
The Links feature lets you add and manage a links section to a widgetized theme.
Prior to the release of version 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature – part of the WordPress menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature is no longer included in the WordPress dashboard menu after WP v.3.5)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – you won’t see it on your 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 the Links item is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to display the built-in Links Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add 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 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/
Description
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 Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:
From the WordPress dashboard menu, go to 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 area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will show on your admin menu screen …
(WordPress links menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding new links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your WP dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
The category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a new 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 understand. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the default link category)
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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many link categories as your site needs.
After configuring your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the dashboard menu …
(Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Addressand Description)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category. It must all be in lowercase letters and contain no 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 with their mouse. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that a separate window will open up in their browser to display the content 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 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. Don’t worry about 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) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Florence Jones and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some sites and search engines that use this information.
rel – This field specifies 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, type nofollow into this field.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
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) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL 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 can display next to the 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 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 Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, 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 add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all your links, choose Links > All Links in the main admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your browser. The Links screen displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To display or hide fields in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Hide or show – Links table)
Editing Links
To modify links, click on Links > All Links in the admin menu to bring up the table of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your links)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete a link, go to the main dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all of your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click Apply to delete all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(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 make links display on your website.
Using The 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 dashboard navigation menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your active widget areas and drop it wherever you want the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your sidebar)
The Links widget includes various options. You can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and display specific various lists of links on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
You can create and display links for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should now be visible on your 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 help using widgets? We have written a detailed article on widgets. To learn more about this go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using filter, search, and sort functions.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Find Links Function
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Search links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(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 link 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 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)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 links that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to other sites in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article on how to create hyperlinks in your WordPress posts and pages. Go here to learn more about this:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)