As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar menu is sometimes referred to as a blogroll.
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 easily add and manage a links section to your sidebar (e.g. a “Resources” section) using widgets.
Prior to the release of WordPress version 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v 3.5, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Menu – pre version 3.5)
After …
(Links – excluded from the WordPress menu after WordPress v3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial explains 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 Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin displays the default Links Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to your installation in order 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 this plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In the WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on 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 …
Once you have activated the plugin, a ‘Links’ section will show up on the WP navigation menu screen …
(Links menu)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before 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 link category, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your browser.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the SEO friendly URL of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include 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 …
(Link Categories)
The new category will display in the list …
(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)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to your readers. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
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)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add New Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: What you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the URL 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target)
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 radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information for that link. Your visitor can see the link information without leaving your page
- _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 browser window instead.
- _top opens the link 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 …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Ava O’Malley 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 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 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.
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 (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the 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 display 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 in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private allows you to add links and then toggle their visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added to the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your web browser. The list of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To display or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Links page – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Table of links – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to the dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the links table …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing links)
Edit your link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To remove a link, select Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all of your links at once.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
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.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard menu …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the widget areas and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress widget bar)
The Links widget includes various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you create and display a number of link categories throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
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)
After setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should appear on your site’s sidebar …
(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 about adding widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filter, search, and sort functions.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Search Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Find your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter your links by link categories)
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 links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter 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 would like to add a ‘Links’ page 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.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image: Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your website that contains a list of all of 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 of your links so that your site users can be made aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
Go here to learn more about how to easily add HTML hyperlinks into WordPress:
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