As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar area is often 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.”
The Links Manager lets you add external hyperlinks to your sidebar area (e.g. a “Resources” section) using a widget.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Menu – pre version 3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager)
If you have used an earlier version than 3.5 and upgraded your installation, then the Link Manager would have been removed, unless you have 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 item is not displayed when you log into your WP dashboard, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin restores the Links Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use this 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 attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activating the plugin, the ‘Links’ function will be restored to your dashboard menu …
(WordPress links management menu)
Configuring The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, select Links > Link Categories in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your 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.
When done, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
The new category will be added to the table …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a new link, WordPress automatically assigns 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 your visitors. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name 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 the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a link category description, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as your site needs.
Once you have finished configuring your link categories, you can add new links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in your WP navigation menu …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address, Description)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of your 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.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target area – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category.
Next, 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 your link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when visitors click on your link, a new window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link. Your visitor will be able to access the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave 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. 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 (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with George Jones and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links more understandable to some sites 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 is used to define the 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes using spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields blank unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced area – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- 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 can display 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 into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want your link to display during certain times and hide it afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see a list of all the links you have added, choose Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ table in your web browser. The Links screen displays a list of all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To display or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Table of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide – Links table)
How To Edit Links
To edit links, go to the admin menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your links page …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing link information)
Edit 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 check that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all links.
To delete individual links, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkbox next to every item that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links notification)
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 your links on your website or blog.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main admin menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Add a links widget to a widgetized menu using drag and drop)
The Links widget provides various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you create and feature link lists on your site …
(Add a number of 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 ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links should now appear on your sidebar …
(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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about using widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using sort, filter, and search functionality.
Sort Links
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Searching Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(You can easily search links using the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering your links by link category)
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 …
(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 link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, or if you want 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 – Plugin For WordPress)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
This plugin creates a page on your web 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 links that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.
Go here to learn more about the benefits of using this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to external sites in WordPress.
We have written a detailed article about how to easily add links to your WordPress content. Go here to learn more:
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