As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to other websites or blogs 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 hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of version 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature was part of the admin menu until the release of WordPress v.3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you have had an earlier version than 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, 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 the Links feature is not displayed when you log into your WP backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin restores the default Link Manager, even if you upgrade 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 WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WordPress administration 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 results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activating the plugin, the ‘Links’ function is restored to the WP sidebar menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding new links. This way, you can assign new links to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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 the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will display in the list …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign 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 relate to. This will not only make 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 edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Editing the link category)
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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a link category description. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process to add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the main admin menu …
(WP Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description fields)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you type here is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO friendly URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new browser window will open up to display the content for that link. This allows your visitors to see the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave your site and a new website 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link screen)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Beckett O’Malley 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 your links will still work. XFN makes your links 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 specifies a relationship 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit 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 section – Add New Link screen)
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 link’s RSS feed can display next to the 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.
When you have finished adding your new link information, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain times and hide them afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see a list of all your links, select Links > All Links in the WP navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To view additional fields in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links table – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide – List of links)
Editing Links
To modify links, go to the main admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing link information)
Make any changes you want to the link information …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, go to the main admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either click on the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click Apply to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display 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, go to your WP dashboard menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget bars in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you would like the links to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget offers various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to add and display a number of different links throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring your links widget, click Save to update your settings. A links 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 help with widgets? To learn more about widgets, see this article:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functionality.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can sort your links)
Find Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Searching links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter links by link categories)
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 brings up a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your site, 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 look at 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
Link Library lets you publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, 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 any additions made to to your link library.
For more information about using this plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article about creating HTML links in your WordPress posts. Go here to learn more:
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