As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other websites or pages displayed on your sidebar area.
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 manage a blogroll using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will display on your website if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the WordPress dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v3.5)
After …
(Links – excluded from the admin menu after WP v 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 and updated your installation, 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to restore the built-in Links feature on your WordPress dashboard, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to your installation 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 the Link Manager plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, the ‘Links’ function will be restored to the WP admin menu area …
(Links menu section)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL bit of your link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default link category name to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on the Update link Category button …
(Editing the default link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Link’ screen in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter details about your link …
(Name, Web Address, Description)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter in this field 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
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category link.
Next, 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 a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave your site and a new website 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Sue Fields and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some websites 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 defines 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to 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 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 the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(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 add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen. The Links table displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To view additional options in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Link Information
To edit links, select Links > All Links in the WP admin menu to bring up the links screen …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Make changes to the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your table of links …
(Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to your dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(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 individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the 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 remove all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Using The 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 display your links on your website.
Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in the main admin menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of the widget sections and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Add a links widget to your WordPress sidebar using drag & drop)
The Links widget provides various options. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebars and footers as you want. This lets you create and feature links sorted by categories on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-down menu …
(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)
Once you are done setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will become visible on your sidebar, footer or wherever you place the links widget in …
(An example of how 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? We have written a comprehensive article on configuring widgets. For more details:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, search, and filter functions.
Sort Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort your links)
Find Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can search your links using the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you intend to add a ‘Links’ page to your site (i.e. not just add a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, 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 link collection that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more this plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
We have written a detailed article on adding HTML links in your WordPress content. Go here to learn more about this:
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