As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or blogs displayed on your sidebar menu.
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 external links to your sidebar (e.g. a “Recommended Resources” section) using a widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Link Manager section was hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Links Manager – part of the WordPress menu until the release of WordPress v.3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and updated your installation, then 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 the Links Manager section when you log into your WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to display the built-in Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last 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 Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website or blog, follow these instructions:
In your WordPress administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
After activation, WordPress adds a ‘Links’ section to the dashboard menu …
(WordPress links management menu)
Configuring The Plugin
Before adding links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. 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, click on Links > Link Categories in your dashboard menu …
(WP Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category …
(Link Categories area)
Your category details will be added to the list …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something that will make sense to your readers. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear under the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the link category name)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Edit the default link category name)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to the WP navigation menu and choose Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description fields – Add New Link page)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit 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 your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a separate web browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when visitors click 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Lily Jenkins and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and your links will work just fine. 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 a 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link – Advanced area)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, 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 can display next to the link.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section 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.
When you have finished 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, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making a link private lets you add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want your link to display during certain periods and hide it afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, click on Links > All Links in the main dashboard menu …
(Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page. The Links table displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional columns in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Hide or display – Table of links)
Editing Link Information
To edit links in the Link Manager, go to the dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing links)
Make any changes you want to the link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up your link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your link table …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Your Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu …
(WP Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you want to remove, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
Your links will be deleted …
(Deleted links notice)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display your links on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Appearance – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will see that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget areas in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to your WordPress sidebar)
The Links widget includes various options. You can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This lets you create and display specific link lists on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display links for a specific category …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
Once you are done setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should show up immediately on your sidebar …
(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 more help using widgets? Go here if you want to learn more using widgets:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sorting, searching, and filtering features.
Sort 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 triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Find Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can easily search links with the search function)
Filter Links
You can filter links by category …
(Filter links by 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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your site, or if you intend 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, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin allows you to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links section, plus 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 for your link collection so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in WordPress.
We have also written a detailed article on how to insert HTML hyperlinks into WordPress posts here:
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