As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other sites or web pages that display on your sidebar section 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 manage a link section using the Links menu in your WP Dashboard. These links will then display on your site once you add the Links widget.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(Links – included in the admin menu until the release of WP v.3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager is no longer included in WordPress after WP version 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version than v.3.5 and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you have previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial will show you how to add and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin restores the Links feature on your WP dashboard, even if you update to a later version of WordPress 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 a while, 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP dashboard menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select 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 activating the plugin, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ functionality to your WP sidebar menu area …
(Links management menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before adding new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the main admin menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: What you enter here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of your link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories area)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category when adding a 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 not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically display under the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, and click on Update Link Category …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, the link category name ‘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, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this 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 main admin menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This takes you to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part of your link category name. Use lowercase letters only without 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
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.
Next, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want your link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate browser window will open up to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave your site and a new website or page will load in your browser window instead.
- _top opens links 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 …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Jayden Schwartz 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 your links will still work. XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some websites 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, enter nofollow into this field.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, 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 link’s RSS feed can 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).
Type in your information into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these are not required.
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 save your new link)
Note: If you tick 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 its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view a list of all the links you have added to the Link Manager, click on Links > All Links in your dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser. The table of links displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To view or hide options in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Show/hide information on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(List of links – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Links
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to your WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your list of links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing link information)
Change the link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your list …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your cursor over the link that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links notice)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget bars and drop it wherever you want the links to display …
(Drag and drop the 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 display about your links and how many links you want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to add and display different link sections on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
You can select a link category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link title, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
After setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will now display on your sidebar, footer or any widget-ready area you add the links widget to …
(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 using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about widgets. For more details, go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, sort, and filter functions.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your cursor 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)
Finding Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Searching links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering your links by link 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 screen)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your website, or if you want 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 your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link library – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download 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 links with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your site containing a list of all of 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 links that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the benefits of using this plugin, go here:
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 add HTML links into WordPress posts. Go here to learn more about this:
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"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)