As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar area is sometimes referred to 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 links section on your sidebar or footer using the Link Manager plugin.
Before the release of WordPress v.3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(Links was part of the WordPress admin menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – excluded from the WordPress menu after WordPress version 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and updated your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have 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 the Links feature is not displayed when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add it via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin restores the Link 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 restore the hidden feature. When we last 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
From the WP administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Once the plugin has been activated, WordPress adds a ‘Links’ section to your sidebar menu area …
(WordPress links menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before you start adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign your link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links Menu – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of the link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a new 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 understand. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the 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 link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create 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 description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process to add as many new link categories as your site needs.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in the WP dashboard menu …
(Links – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the URL 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that a separate browser window will open up to display the information for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave 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. 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 …
(Add New Link – 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 work with Riya 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. 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 defines a 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, 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 be displayed next to the link.
- 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 in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you have finished adding your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser. The Links table displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view or hide options in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links, go to the main dashboard menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the table of links …
(Links – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Edit your link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and 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 Delete Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP admin menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you want 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 …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete all selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
Your links will be deleted …
(Deleted links notice)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the dashboard menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – 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 widget areas and drop it wherever you would like the links to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget includes a number of settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to create and feature different link sections on your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Display a list of links 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 – Sort by options)
After setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links will appear on your sidebar menu …
(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 configuring widgets. For more details:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sorting, searching, and filtering features.
Sorting Links
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 …
(You can sort your links)
Search Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(You can find your links using the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter 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 screen)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your site, or if you would like 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, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, 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 for your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here for more information about using this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article about adding links in WordPress. To learn more, go here:
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