As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other sites or pages that display on your sidebar area 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.”
You can display a links section on your sidebar or footer using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager Feature – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature – excluded from WordPress after WordPress v3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would have been 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 you can’t see a Links item on the main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin displays the built-in Link Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Links Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:
From your WP administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, the ‘Links’ function is restored to your WP sidebar menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before you start adding links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the navigation menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the 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 a link category description. (Optional)
Click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories page)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change this to something that your visitors can relate to. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Replace 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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Related Products’ etc).
Let’s 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 …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when finished …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as your site requires.
After setting up your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Links > Add New …
(WordPress Links Menu – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address, Description section)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL bit of the link category name. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target fields)
In the Categories section, select 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 for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how your link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when visitors click on the 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN) area)
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 Luke Fields and you link to his 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 your links will still work. Defining relationships with 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 specifies the 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Add New Link – Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- 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 will be displayed next to your links.
- 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 blank.
When you have finished adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(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 …
(Private link checkbox)
Making links private allows you to add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have created, go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view or hide fields in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(List of links – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Your Links
To modify a link, go to the dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing link information)
Edit the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your list if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To remove a link, go to the navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This loads 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 links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link title 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 checkbox next to every link that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
Your links will be removed …
(Deleted links message)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the main admin menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ page.
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 widget areas and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget offers various configurable options. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - options)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and display a number of link sections sorted by categories on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pulldown menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
Once you are done configuring the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will show on your website’s sidebar …
(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 more help with widgets? We have written a detailed article about widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, search, and filter functions.
Sorting Links Function
You can sort links by hovering your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links function)
Find Links Function
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(You can find your links with the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering links by link category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to search for link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website, 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to display a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin creates a page on your site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, and 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 become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to your WordPress sidebar.
We have written a detailed article on how to easily add links into WordPress posts. If you would like to know more about this here:
***
"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com