As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites 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 Manager lets you add and manage links to a widgetized theme.
Prior to the release of WordPress v 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager feature – part of the dashboard menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)
If your blog previously used this feature, then it will still be available when your site updates to a newer version. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not be displayed on the dashboard 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 visible when you log into your WordPress backend, you can add this feature via a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin displays the built-in Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds 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 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/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WP admin area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, the ‘Links’ function is restored to your navigation menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your browser.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the web address part of your 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.
Click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories area)
Your category details will display in the table …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for 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 will make sense to blog readers. 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 …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a link category description. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can being adding new links.
How To Add Links
To create a new link, go to your admin menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page 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 the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description fields – Add New Link screen)
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL bit 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 your link category description in the links section, or as a tool tip when visitors hover over the link name. (Optional)
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target fields)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you have already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category link.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Billie O’Malley and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all your links will still work. Defining relationships with 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 defines 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, help, index, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
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 page – Advanced fields)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add an image URL and make sure that the image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the link’s RSS feed will be displayed next to the 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 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 Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link 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 …
(Private link checkbox)
Making links private lets you toggle their visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want links to display during certain periods and hide them afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all your links, go to the dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links table)
Tip: To view or hide information in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(List of links – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify a link, choose Links > All Links in the WP admin menu to bring up your links page …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your link information)
Make changes to the link …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and check 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)
Removing Your Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the navigation menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all of your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkboxes next to individual items that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The links you have selected will be removed …
(Link deletion notice)
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 site.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the WP dashboard menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the widget areas in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your widget bar)
The Links widget includes various configurable options. You can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you add and display lists of links throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-down menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring your Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will show up immediately on your website or blog’s sidebar menu …
(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 using widgets? We have written a detailed article about configuring widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using searching, sorting, and filtering features.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse 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 Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(Finding your links)
Filtering Links Function
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 find link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This brings up a list of all links listed for 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 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 links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your site containing all the link categories in your Links area, plus all links defined for 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 WordPress plugin, visit the plugin site:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a comprehensive article on adding HTML hyperlinks to your WordPress content. Go here to learn more:
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