As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar is often 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.”
You can display a featured links section on your sidebar using the WordPress Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Manager – pre version 3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin displays the built-in Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add 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)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – 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 area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ item will be displayed on your sidebar menu screen …
(WordPress links menu)
Plugin Setup
Before adding new links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign any new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, select Links > Link Categories in the WP dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL 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. (Optional)
Click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories)
The link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when adding a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the 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, and click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as your site requires.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, select Links > Add New in the main dashboard menu …
(WP Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part of your link category. Use lowercase letters only without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target section – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a new, separate browser window will open up to display the information 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 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 …
(Link Relationship (XFN) section)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Niall Cooper 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 all of your links will still work. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some websites 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 defines 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 this site:
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 leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link)
The Advanced link settings section contains the following options:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image and make sure that the 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 your link.
- 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
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 save your new link)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make links private by checking the box)
Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like the link to display during certain periods and hide it afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all your links, select Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table in your browser. The Links table displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view additional information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links screen – Hide or display screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify a link, click on Links > All Links in your WP dashboard menu to bring up the list of links …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Change the link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your table if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to the main admin menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all links at once.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to every item that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
Your links will be deleted …
(links deleted message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure 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’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want the links to show up …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to your WordPress widget bar)
The Links widget provides various options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to show about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you add and display several link sections throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
You can select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown 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 – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should show on your website …
(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 adding widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with filtering, searching, and sorting features.
Sort Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Searching Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Search your links)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter your links by 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 page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you would like to add a page containing a list of links to your site (i.e. not just add links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to publish a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, and 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 any additions made to to your link library.
Go here to learn more about using this handy plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.
Go here if you want to learn more how to easily add HTML hyperlinks to WordPress posts & pages:
***
"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now