As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or pages that display on your sidebar section.
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 and manage a links section to a widgetized theme.
Before the release of v.3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress version 3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(Links appeared in the menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – excluded from WordPress after WP v 3.5)
If you were using the Links Manager in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when your WP installation upgrades to a newer version. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your site is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not display 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 the Links item is not displayed when you log into your WordPress backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin displays the built-in Links feature on your WordPress dashboard, even if you upgrade 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 some time, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use the Link Manager plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, do the following:
In your WP administration menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 installing it …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will show up on the WP navigation menu screen …
(WordPress links menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding 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, go to your WP navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address of the link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
The link category will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a new link, WordPress will assign 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 visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Related Products’ etc).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as your site requires.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, go to your WP dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has 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 fields:
- Name: Whatever you enter here will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of the link category name. It must all 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 with their mouse.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target section)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link 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 you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a new browser window will open up to display the information for that link. Your visitor will be able to see the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new website 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. Ignore 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 …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link screen)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Aadhya Anderson and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will work just fine. XFN makes your links 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 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, enter nofollow into this field. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
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)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is located 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 can be displayed next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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).
Type in your information into 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 Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by checking the box)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like the link to display during certain times and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all your links, go to the dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your web browser. The Links screen displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To display additional information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Hide or display – List of links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links in the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu to bring up the links screen …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Make the changes you want to your link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the check boxes next to individual links that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
Your links will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in the main dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ screen will load in your browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want your links to display …
(Add a links widget to your sidebar using drag and drop)
The Links widget includes a number of configurable settings. You can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific several links throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – 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)
After setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links should show on your site …
(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 using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about using widgets. To learn more, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with searching, sorting, and filtering features.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Finding Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Finding links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter links by link category)
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 page)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, 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 links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin lets you output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, plus 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 of your link collection so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more this great plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to your WordPress sidebar.
To learn more about how to add HTML hyperlinks to your WordPress posts, refer to this article:
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