As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links displayed on your sidebar 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 easily add and manage links to your sidebar area (e.g. a “Top 5 Resources” section) using a widget.
Prior to the release of WordPress v 3.5, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the WordPress menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(Links – no longer included in the admin menu after WP version 3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed and updated your installation, the Links Manager would be removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – you will not see it on the 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 Link Manager is not visible when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete 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
The Link Manager plugin restores the built-in Links menu on your dashboard, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation in order 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Plugin URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In the WordPress admin area, 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 …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Once the plugin is activated, a ‘Links’ section will show in the WP dashboard menu area …
(Links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the admin menu …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will load in your browser.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO 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 a link category description.
after entering your information, click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories area)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating 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 your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the default link category)
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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(Edit the default link category)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
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 your category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update done to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Address, Description)
Type in the following information:
- Name: Whatever you enter here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of your link category. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create 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 how you want the link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information for that link. This lets your visitors see the link information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will leave your site and a new site or page will load in your web browser window instead.
- _top opens the link 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link page)
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 Lisa Fields and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can ignore this section and 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 a 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 with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Add New Link screen – Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is located 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 will be displayed next to your links.
- 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 ignore this section.
When you have finished adding your new link information, 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 Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you would like links to display during certain periods and hide them when not required) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have created, select Links > All Links in your admin menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view additional information in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links table – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Your Link Information
To modify a link, click on Links > All Links in the dashboard navigation menu to bring up the table of links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your links)
Change the link details …
(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 your link’s URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
Deleting Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to your WP navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link you want removed and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to every item that you want to remove, 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’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The links will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
Using The Link Manager Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display links 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 WP dashboard menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your web browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of the active widget areas and drop it wherever you would like your links to display …
(Add a links widget to your widget bar)
The Links widget offers various configurable settings. You can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable options)
You can also add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This lets you create and display different link lists sorted by categories throughout your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ drop-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 settings – Sort by options)
After setting up your links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your link section will show up immediately on your sidebar menu …
(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 detailed article about using widgets. If you would like to learn more about this here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, filter, and search functions.
Sorting 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 Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Search your links)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filter links by category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you want to add a page containing a list of links to your site (i.e. not just add links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to display a list of all your link categories and a complete list of all your links plus descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
This 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. 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 links so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about this plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to external websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article on how to add HTML hyperlinks into WordPress posts and pages. To learn more about this go here:
***
"Learning WordPress has been a huge stumbling block for me. I've been looking for something that covers absolutely everything but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Thank you so much ... you have just provided me with what I have been looking for! Truly appreciated!" - Tanya