As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or pages displayed on your sidebar.
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 easily add external hyperlinks to a widget-ready theme.
Before the release of v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Menu – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)
If you have had an earlier version than 3.5 installed and updated your installation, then the Link Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – 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 the Links menu section is not displayed when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin restores the Links Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation in order to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin on your site, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In your WordPress dashboard menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will show up in the admin menu …
(Links management menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to your dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category. 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 to save …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that your visitors can relate to. 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 …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
Change 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 …
(Editing the default link category name)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your 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 you need.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to the dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you enter here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of the link category name. 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.
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create 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 where the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new web browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit your site and a new website or page will load in your web 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
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 Sophia Schwartz and you link to her 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 still work. 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 defines 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, index, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Add New Link screen – Advanced area)
The Advanced link settings section contains the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL and make sure that your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the link’s RSS feed 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).
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 save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle their visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all your links, choose Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ table. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display or hide fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links table – Screen Options)
Show/hide information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Table of links – Hide or show screen options)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links in the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the dashboard navigation menu to bring up the table of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your links)
Make changes to your link fields …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to your WP admin menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check box next to each item that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Link deletion notification)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your website or blog.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the navigation menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget areas in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Drag & drop your links widget to add it to your sidebar)
The Links widget includes various configurable settings. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and feature link lists on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
You can 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 title, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up the links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links will show on your site …
(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 comprehensive article on configuring widgets. For more details:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching functions.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Find Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Finding links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter your links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. 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 screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you want 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 links.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your site containing all the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
For more details about this WordPress plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to your WordPress sidebar.
We have written a detailed article on adding hyperlinks in your WordPress posts. To learn more, go here:
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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)