As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages that display on your sidebar section 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 Manager lets you add and manage hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.
Prior to the release of v 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress version 3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(Links – part of the WordPress admin menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – no longer displayed in WordPress after WordPress v.3.5)
If you were using the Links feature in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when your site upgrades to a newer version. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not be displayed 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install 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 – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin displays the default Links menu on your WP dashboard, even if you update 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 your installation in order 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 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)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then 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 installation …
After activating the plugin, a ‘Links’ item will show up on your dashboard menu …
(Links management menu)
Plugin Setup
Before you start adding links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, you can assign any new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the dashboard menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the web address 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.
When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories screen)
Your link category will display in the list …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the link category name)
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 …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).
Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
After configuring your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in the main admin menu …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link screen – Name, Web Address, Description area)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you enter here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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 a 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 typing in link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already created, 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 a new browser window will open up to display the content for that link. Your visitor can access the link 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 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 – lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Ray Gould 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 of your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some sites 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, type nofollow into this field.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you 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 can be displayed next to the links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to your navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To display additional fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Table of links – Hide or display screen options)
How To Edit Links
To modify a link, choose Links > All Links in your admin menu to bring up your links table …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing links)
Make changes to the link information …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check 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 of links …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
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 title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want to remove, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links message)
Using The Plugin
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
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in the WP dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your web browser.
You will see that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Add a links widget to your widget bar using drag & drop)
The Links widget includes various options. For example, 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 also add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you create and display multiple link lists throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …
(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 settings – Sort by options)
After configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should appear on your website’s sidebar …
(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? To learn more about configuring widgets, see this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sorting, filtering, and searching 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 little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Find Links Function
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Finding links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter links by link 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website, or if you want 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 your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin lets you publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, 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 for your link collection so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article about adding hyperlinks to WordPress posts. To learn more, go here:
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