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 menu 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 display a featured links section on your website using the Link Manager plugin.
Before WordPress v.3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(Links appeared in the menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager feature – excluded from WordPress after WP v 3.5)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Links Manager would be 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 you can’t see a Links section on the main menu when you log into your WordPress dashboard, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to restore the Links Manager, even if you update WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code 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 one below instead, or contact us for help editing your site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
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.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
In your WP admin menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “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 installing it …
After activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ item in the dashboard menu area …
(WordPress links management menu section)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. 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 new link category, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
This loads the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your browser.
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 appears in the URL of the 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)
Click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
The link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: The default WordPress link category is called Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a new link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this 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 the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something better suited to your business)
To edit the ‘Blogroll’ link title, 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), then click on the Update link Category button …
(Editing the default link category name)
In our example, the link category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a link category description, click on Edit under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat the above process to add as many link categories as you need.
After setting up your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ screen in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug appears in the SEO friendly URL of the link category. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target fields – Add New Link page)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. 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 web browser to display the information associated with the link. This lets your visitors access the link information without leaving your page
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on the link, they will leave your site and a new site 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Vihaan Gould and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and all your links will work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links 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 specifies the relationship 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, help, index, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit 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) …
(Advanced fields)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the URL of where the image is stored 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 your links.
- 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 in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done 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 checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Make your links private)
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 periods and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, go to your admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will display in your browser. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To show or hide information in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To edit links, go to the admin menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the table of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Change your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in your navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all links.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the checkbox next to each item that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Deleted links message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display your links on your website.
Using The Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your WP admin menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your 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 widget bars in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want the links to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized menu)
The Links widget includes a number of options. You can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you would like to display on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebar. This allows you to add and feature link sections throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Display links for a specific 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)
Once you are done setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links should show on your sidebar menu …
(An example of how 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 detailed article about using widgets here:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sort, filter, and search functionality.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting your links)
Find Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(You can search links with the search function)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter links by 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 …
(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 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer your links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 of your link collection that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about Link Library:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links to external websites and pages in your WordPress sidebar menu.
Go here if you want to learn more how to easily add hyperlinks in WordPress:
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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)