As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.

WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other sites or pages that display on your sidebar menu 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 display a featured links section on your site using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.

Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …

Before …

(WP Links Manager – pre version 3.5)

After …

(Links – excluded from the admin menu after WordPress v.3.5)

If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it.

 

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 WordPress admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.

Link Manager

(Link Manager)

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

You can use this plugin to display the built-in Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.

Note: This plugin adds a single line of 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 this plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.

Simple Links

(Simple Links)

Download URL

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

Description Of Plugin

Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.

How To Install Link Manager

To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these instructions:

In your WP administration menu, go to 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 screen and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

Once you’ve activated the plugin, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ section on your WP sidebar menu …

(WordPress links management menu)

Plugin Setup

We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. 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 main navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …

(Links Menu – Link Categories)

This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.

Type in information into the following fields:

• Name: What you type here displays as the link category name.
• Slug: The slug is the web address part of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display your link category description.

after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category …

(Link Categories)

Your link category will display in the list …

(Link Categories area)

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

(Default link category name)

You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …

(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)

To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …

(Quick Edit)

Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on the Update link Category button …

(Update Link Category)

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

Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …

(Link category description)

Enter your link category description field and click Update when done …

(Edit Link Category page)

Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as you need.

After setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.

Adding New Links

To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the admin menu …

(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)

This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ screen …

(Add New Link page)

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

(Add New Link button)

The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:

Name, Web Address & Description

Enter details about your link in this section …

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

Enter information into the following sections:

• Name: Whatever you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
• Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
• Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)

Categories & Target

After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the link …

(Categories & Target)

In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, 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 you want the link to open when a visitor clicks on it:

• _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information for that link. Your visitor can access the information without leaving your site
• _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 browser window instead.
• _top opens the link 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 section provides some additional link functionality …

(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link)

Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Elizabeth Gould 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. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 is used to define 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.

To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:

• WordPress Codex: Defining Relationships With XFN

Advanced

The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you enter 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 are as follows:

• Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is stored 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 be displayed 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).

Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these 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 update your link settings)

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

(Make your links private)

Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …

(Toggle link visibility on and off)

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

(WP Links – All Links)

The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser. The Links page displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …

(List of links)

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

(Links screen – Screen Options)

Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …

(Hide or show – Links screen)

How To Edit Links

To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to your WP navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …

(WordPress 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)

Edit the link …

(Edit Link page)

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

• Click on Update Link to save 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 delete the link if it’s no longer required …

(Update Link button)

Removing Links

To remove links from the Link Manager, go to the main admin menu and click on Links > All Links …

(Links Menu – All Links)

This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.

You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links at once.

To delete individual links, hover over the link title you want removed and click on Delete …

(Delete links)

To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …

(Delete multiple links)

Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete all selected links …

(Bulk-deletion of links)

Your selected links will be removed …

(links deleted 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.

Links Widget

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

To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …

(Appearance Menu – Widgets)

The ‘Widgets’ screen will load in your web browser.

You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …

(Links widget)

Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget areas and drop it wherever you want your links to show up …

(Add a links widget to a widgetized area using drag and drop)

The Links widget offers various settings. For example, you can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …

(Link widget - options)

You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This allows you to create and feature link lists on your site …

(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)

Display a list of items for a specific category …

(Link widget options – Select Link Category)

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

(Link widget settings – Sorting options)

When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links should display on your site’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 more help with widgets? If you want to learn more about adding widgets, see this article:

• How To Add WordPress Widgets To The Blog Sidebar

Links Manager – Additional Information

If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with searching, filtering, and sorting features.

Sort Your Links

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

(Sort your links)

Find Links

You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …

(You can easily search your links using the search function)

Filter Links

You can filter links by category …

(Filtering your links by link category)

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 links in the ‘Links’ column …

(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)

This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …

(Links filtered by link category)

Additional Link Options

If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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 URL

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

Plugin Description

Link Library allows you to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …

(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)

Link Library creates a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 of your links so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.

To learn more about this useful plugin, go here:

• Link Library WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a link section to WordPress.

We have also written a detailed article about creating links in WordPress posts & pages here:

• Using The Internal Linking Tool In WordPress

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