As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other sites or pages that display 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.”
The Links feature lets you add external hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.
Before the release of WordPress v 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the WordPress admin menu until the release of WordPress v.3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)
If you have had an earlier version than 3.5 installed 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 menu section is not visible when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing 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
Description
Use this plugin to restore the default Link Manager, even if you update 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, 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)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
In your WordPress admin 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 …
Find the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After activation, the ‘Links’ feature is restored to your navigation menu …
(Links menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter in this field will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part of the link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will now show in the table …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default WordPress 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 the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. 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)
Add your link category description field and click Update done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many link categories as you need.
After setting up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
How To Add New Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in the admin menu …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part 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 in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link page)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their web browser 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 web 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 …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Otis Jenkins 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 work just fine. 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 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is stored and make sure that your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the RSS feed associated with the link will 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 would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.
When you are done adding information about your link, 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, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(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 links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ screen in your browser. The Links table displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To display additional fields in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Links page – Hide or show screen options)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links, select Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu to bring up your table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing link information)
Make any changes you want to your 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 check that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To remove a link, click on Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your cursor over the link that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
Your links will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to make links display on your website.
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 the navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your active widget bars in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget offers various options. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget settings)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and feature specific several links on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of links for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
After configuring the links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links will now display on your sidebar menu …
(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 more help with widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about configuring widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filter, sort, and search features.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort your links)
Finding Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Finding your links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering links by categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for 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 link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you intend 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 your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links plus notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your website containing all the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 so that your site users can become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article about creating links in WordPress posts. Go here to learn more:
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