As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a 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 feature lets you easily add external hyperlinks to your WordPress sidebar (e.g. a “Top 5 Resources” section) using a widget.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(The Links Manager – included in the WordPress dashboard menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links Manager feature)
If you’ve used an earlier version than 3.5 and updated your installation, 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 remain hidden – it will not be displayed 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 visible when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to restore the built-in Link 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 code to WordPress 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 the Link Manager 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 Of Plugin
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP dashboard 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 results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, the ‘Links’ feature will be restored to your WP dashboard menu …
(Links menu)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign the link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, click on Links > Link Categories in the main navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category name. 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)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories screen)
Your category details will be added to the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this default link category name to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(Quick Edit)
Change 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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Edit the default link category name)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have configured your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to the admin menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Addressand Description fields)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter in this field is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. 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 with their mouse.
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link screen)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ 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 where your link should open when visitors click on it:
- _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 see the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on your 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link page – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Aalia O’Malley and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and 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 lets you specify the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute defines 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, start, help, index, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section 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)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- 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 link’s RSS feed can display next to your links.
- Notes: Add notes about the link in this section 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 ignore this section.
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 update your link settings)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to toggle link visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like a link to display during certain times and hide it afterwards) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have created, click on Links > All Links in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ page. The table of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To show or hide columns in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide – Links screen)
How To Edit Link Information
To edit links in the Link Manager, go to the admin menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your link information)
Make any changes you want to the link information …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link 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 from your table of links if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your admin menu …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or remove all your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the checkbox next to every link that you would like to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display links on your site.
Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard navigation menu …
(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links to show up …
(Drag and drop the links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
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 want to display on your sidebar …
(Link widget - options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and feature various link sections throughout your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(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)
After setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section should become visible on your sidebar …
(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 more help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article about using widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using sorting, filtering, and searching functions.
Sorting Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Search Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Find links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter your links by link categories)
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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your website or blog, or if you intend 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 URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image: Link Library plugin documentation.)
This plugin creates a page on your site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, plus all links defined for 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 of your link collection that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to your WordPress sidebar.
Go here for a detailed article on how to easily add HTML links to WordPress:
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