As you continue to learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages displayed on your sidebar area.
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 a widgetized theme.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature – included in the WordPress admin menu until the release of WordPress version 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager feature)
If you have used an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your WP installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not display on the menu.
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 menu section is not displayed when you log into your WordPress admin area, you can add it via a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Links feature on your WP dashboard, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress 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 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 WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
How To Install The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website or blog, do the following:
In the WP administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
Once the plugin has been activated, a ‘Links’ item will be displayed in your WP dashboard menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding new links. This way, you can assign new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will load in your browser.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
When finished, click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories page)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something that your visitors can understand. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit 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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Edit the default link category)
In our example, the link category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a description for this link category. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as your site needs.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, choose Links > Add New in your WP dashboard menu …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Links – 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 …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address& Description fields)
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you type here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)
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 link.
Next, 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 separate window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit 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. Ignore this option if you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Veer Jenkins and you link to his blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and all of your links will still work. XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 defines 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of your image 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 display next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select 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 lets you add a link and then toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the admin menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional columns in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links page – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to your navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing links)
Make any changes you want to your link fields …
(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 see your link and check that you have set up its URL correctly (the 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)
Deleting Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want removed and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be deleted …
(links deleted notice)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your site.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in your dashboard menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ screen in your browser.
You will see 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 would like your links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget includes a number of settings. You can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and display link lists on your site …
(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 rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
Once you are done setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section should show on your website’s sidebar …
(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? Go here to learn more about using widgets:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functions.
Sorting Links
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 …
(Sort links function)
Finding Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Searching your links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by category …
(Filter links by categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website, 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer your links.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin lets you publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your web site containing all the link categories in your Links section, 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 for your link collection that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a featured links section to WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article about how to add HTML hyperlinks to WordPress posts & pages. If you would like to know more here:
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"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