As you continue to discover more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or pages that display on your sidebar area 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 feature lets you easily add hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar area (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using a widget.
Before the release of v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WP Links Manager – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – excluded from WordPress after WP v3.5)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, the Link 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 WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin displays the Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WordPress admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, 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 activation, a ‘Links’ item will show up on the admin menu …
(WordPress links menu section)
Plugin Configuration
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, select Links > Link Categories in the navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category name. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to blog readers. 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 appear under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the 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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process to add as many different link categories as your site requires.
After configuring your link categories, you can being adding new links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, go to your WP dashboard menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description area)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL bit of your link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target fields)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ 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 your link should open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave your site and a new site 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Frankie Smith and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and your links will still work. 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 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, start, index, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL and make sure that the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the link’s RSS feed will display next to the links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section for your own internal reference.
- Rating: You can add a rating score to the link if you would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter 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 update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to toggle link visibility on and 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 created, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display or hide fields in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links page)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Table of links – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Your Links
To edit a link, select Links > All Links in the dashboard menu to bring up the links page …
(Links – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing link information)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link screen)
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 your link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to the WP admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the checkbox next to every item that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display your links on your site.
Using The 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 main dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – 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 active widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress sidebar using drag & drop)
The Links widget provides a number of settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you create and display specific various links throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display links for a specific category …
(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 options – Sorting options)
When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will appear on your site’s sidebar …
(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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on using widgets. To learn more, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, sort, and filter functionality.
Sort Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Search Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Finding links function)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by category …
(Filtering links by link categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
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 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 your links.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin allows you to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Image: 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. 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 additions to your link library.
Visit this website to learn more about this great plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article about adding links in your WordPress posts. For more details:
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group