As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar area is often 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.”
The Links Manager lets you easily add and manage links to a widgetized theme.
Before the release of version 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of version 3.5, the Link Manager section was kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Feature – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – excluded from the dashboard menu after WordPress version 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, then 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 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 site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Links menu on your WordPress dashboard, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code 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 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 Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WP admin area, 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 area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will show up in your dashboard menu area …
(Links menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before adding new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the admin menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: What you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your 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. (Optional)
Click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories page)
Your link category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to your site visitors. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically display under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the link category name)
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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as you need.
After setting up your link categories, you can being adding new links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, go to the dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include 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.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when visitors click on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. This allows your visitors to access the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave your site and a new site 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. 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 …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Muhammed Cooper and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of your links will still work. 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 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, enter nofollow into this field.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to enter 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 link settings section contains the following:
- Image Address: 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 link’s RSS feed can display 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information into 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 the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have created, select Links > All Links in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display additional information in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Links table)
Display/hide information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide – List of links)
Editing Your Links
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to your dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up the list of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your links)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To remove a link, choose Links > All Links in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click Apply to remove all selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be removed …
(Link deletion notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display your links on your website or blog.
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 WP admin menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your active widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you want the links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag & drop)
The Links widget includes various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and display lists of links on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Display links for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
After setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links should become visible on your website …
(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? If you want to learn more about using widgets, refer to this article:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using search, sort, and filter features.
Sort Your Links
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)
Finding Your Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(You can search links using the search function)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter your links by 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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website or blog, 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 links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your website 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 for your link collection that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
For more information about the benefits of using this plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to external sites in WordPress.
Go here to learn more about inserting links into your WordPress content:
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