As you continue to learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or web pages displayed on your sidebar.
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 links on your site using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before the release of WordPress v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager Feature – pre v.3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager – no longer displayed in the WordPress menu after WordPress v3.5)
If you have had an earlier version than v 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would be 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 Manager is not visible when you log into your WordPress admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to display the default Links menu on your WP dashboard, 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 your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last 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 Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In the WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After activating the plugin, the ‘Links’ function will be restored to your WP dashboard menu area …
(Links menu)
Configuring Link Manager
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding any new links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: What you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to site visitors. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the default 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), and click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the link category name)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘XYZ Products’ etc).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, click on Links > Add New in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address& Description – Add New Link)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug displays 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.
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a separate browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to access the link 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 – Link Relationship (XFN) area)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Peter Schwartz 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 your links will work just fine. 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 a relationship 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, start, help, 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 (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an 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 will 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(You can make links private by checking the box)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, click on Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To show or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Display/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Table of links – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Links
To modify a link, go to the WP admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Make changes to the link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual links that you want to be removed, 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’ drop-down menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(Link deletion message)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display your links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of your widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like the links to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable options. You can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar and footer. This lets you add and display lists of links on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …
(Link widget settings – 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)
When you have finished setting up your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will now appear on your website’s sidebar menu …
(An example of how 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 using widgets? We have written a detailed article on configuring widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, filter, and search functionality.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Searching Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(You can find your links using the search function)
Filter Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering links by link categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website or blog, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 of your links that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to external sites in WordPress.
To learn more about how to create HTML hyperlinks in WordPress posts and pages, see this article:
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