As you continue to discover more about 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 that display on your sidebar menu.
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 add external hyperlinks to a widget-ready theme.
Prior to the release of v3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WP Links Menu – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature is no longer included in WordPress after WordPress v3.5)
If your website or blog had a previously active Links Manager section, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your installation of WordPress is new, then this function will remain hidden – you will not see it displayed on the dashboard menu.
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 dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin restores the default Link Manager, 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. 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:
In your WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will be added to your navigation menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Setup
Before you start adding 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, choose Links > Link Categories in the dashboard menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will display in your web browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: What you enter in this field 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 a link category description. (Optional)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will display in the list …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the link category name)
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 default link category name)
In our example, the link category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process and add as many link categories as your site needs.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add New Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in the main dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – 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 ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a separate window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new site or page will load in your web browser window instead.
- _top opens the link 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link page)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Theo Smith 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 all of your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 is used to define 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- 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 RSS feed associated with the link can be displayed next to the link.
- 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 ignore this section.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser. The Links page displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display or hide columns in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links screen – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Links
To edit a link, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing links)
Make any changes you want to your 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 see your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To remove a link from the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all your links at once.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkbox next to every item that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links message)
Using The Link Manager 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 links on your website or blog.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the navigation menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of the active widget sections and drop it wherever you want your links to display …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to create and display specific different link lists throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
You can add and display links for a specific category …
(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 options – Sort by options)
After setting up your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links will appear on your site’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 help with widgets? We have written a detailed article on configuring widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using searching, filtering, and sorting functions.
Sort 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 …
(You can sort links)
Find Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Searching links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional 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 a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to display a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library creates a page on your web site 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.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit the plugin site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
Go here if you would like to learn more about creating HTML links in your WordPress posts and pages:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)