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 web pages displayed 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.”
You can add a link section using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will then display on your sidebar if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v 3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager feature was part of the WordPress menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links feature)
If you’ve had an earlier version than v 3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Link Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will remain hidden – you won’t see it on your 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 displayed when you log into your WP backend, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin restores the built-in Links Manager, 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 WordPress 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Plugin 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 feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In your WP admin area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ section in the navigation menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your browser.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. It must all be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories page)
The new category will display in the table …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category when creating a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to site visitors. This will not only make 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 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 …
(Quick Edit)
Change both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as your site needs.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can start adding new links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, go to the admin menu and select Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link screen – Name, Web Address, Description section)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. Only use lower case 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 with their mouse. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to access the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will exit your site and a new site 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. 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 have a professional relationship with Billie Cooper and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and all 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 specifies what relationship exists 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, 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’ page lets you enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 will display next to your link.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes for your own internal reference.
- Rating: Add a rating score to the link if you would like to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not essential.
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 tick Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private lets you 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 after it’s no longer required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to the WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser. The Links screen displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional information in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links table – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Link Information
To modify links, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your link information)
Change your link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete a link from the Link Manager, choose Links > All Links in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ table in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or remove all your links.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either click on the checkboxes next to individual links that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
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
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the main navigation menu …
(WP Appearance – Widgets)
You will be taken to the ‘Widgets’ page.
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 bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress widget bar using drag and drop)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable settings. 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 …
(Link widget - options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This lets you create and display specific link sections throughout your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
When you have finished setting up the Links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links will become visible on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have added the widget to …
(An example of how 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 help with widgets? We have written a detailed article about configuring widgets. Go here to learn more:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, searching, and filtering features.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links)
Search Links Function
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Search links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter your links by link 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 links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you would like to add a ‘Links’ page 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.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin allows you to display a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)
Link Library creates a page on your site that contains a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, plus 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 become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Go here to learn more this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links in WordPress.
We have also created a detailed article on how to easily add hyperlinks in your WordPress content here:
***
"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)