As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar area 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.”
You can display a links section on your website using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After v3.5, the Links Manager section was hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WP Links Menu – pre v.3.5)
After …
(Links – no longer included in WordPress after WordPress v 3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Link Manager would be 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WP backend, you can add this feature via a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to add and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
Use this plugin to display the built-in Links menu on your WP dashboard, even if you update WordPress to a later version 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 some time, 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)
Download 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 feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website or blog, do the following:
In your WP dashboard area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then 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, the ‘Links’ function is restored to the dashboard menu …
(Links menu section)
Configuring The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding new links. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL bit of the link category. Use lowercase letters only and do not include 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 …
(Link Categories)
Your new category will display in the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when adding a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something that will make sense to your site visitors. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically appear under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the link category name)
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)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to your dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your 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 various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section is where you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the URL of the link category. Only use lower case letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how you want your link to open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when visitors click on your link, a new, separate browser window will open up to display the content associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the link information without leaving your website
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will exit 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. 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 …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Mia Cooper and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of 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, type nofollow into this field. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is stored 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 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).
Enter information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not essential.
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 Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
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 your link to display during certain times and hide it afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view a list of all your links, click on Links > All Links in your navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your browser. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view additional fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide – List of links)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up the links table …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing links)
Edit your link information …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to your WP dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the check boxes next to individual items that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pulldown menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links message)
Plugin Usage
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 your 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, go to the WP dashboard menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web 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 your active widget areas and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This lets you create and display links on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category to display links for a specific category …
(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 setting up your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should display 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 on adding widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching features.
Sorting 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 function)
Find Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Searching links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering links by categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. 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 page)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by 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 your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you display a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
This plugin creates a page on your website that contains all the link categories in your Links section, 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 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 link section to your WordPress site.
Go here if you would like to learn more about inserting links into WordPress posts & pages:
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