As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar is sometimes 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.”
You can manage a link section using the Links menu in your WP Dashboard. These links will then display on your site if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the admin menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – excluded from WordPress after WP v 3.5)
If your blog had a previously active Link Manager section, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your WP installation is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not display 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial explains how to add and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
You can use this plugin to restore the default Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. The last time we 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)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress administration menu, 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 …
Locate the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
After you’ve activated the plugin, a ‘Links’ item will be displayed in the navigation menu area …
(Links menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you enter here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL part of the 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.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this default link category name to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically display under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Replace 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 Update Link Category …
(Edit the default link category name)
Replace the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update you’re done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as you need.
After you have finished configuring your link categories, you can being adding new links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to your dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will display in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has the following sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address, Description – Add New Link page)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already added, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.
Also, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to access the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave your site and a new website 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Lily O’Malley 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 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 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced section)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL 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 can be displayed next to the 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).
Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not required.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your 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 a link to display during certain periods and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added to the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen. The Links page displays a list of all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view additional columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links screen)
Display/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(List of links – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify a link, go to your dashboard menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the links page …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Edit your link …
(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 make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete links, go to your WP admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all links at once.
To delete links individually, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main check box 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 remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
Your selected links will be deleted …
(links deleted notification)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to make links display on your site.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP admin menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – 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)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of the widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …
(Drag & drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This allows you to add and feature a number of different links throughout your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ pull-down menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link rating, Link ID, 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 appear on your sidebar, footer or any widgetized area you place the widget in …
(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 using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about widgets. To learn more about this go here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sorting, searching, and filtering features.
Sort Links Function
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 …
(You can sort links)
Finding Your Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Find your links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter links by link categories)
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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website or blog, or if you would like 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 links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your web site that contains all the link categories in your Links section, and 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 for your links that lets your site users be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about using this plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress site.
Go here if you would like to learn more about how to easily add hyperlinks to WordPress posts:
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum