As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or pages displayed on your sidebar menu.
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 links on your website using the Link Manager plugin.
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 kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(Links – included in the dashboard menu until the release of WordPress v 3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If your website or blog previously used this feature, then it will still be available when your WordPress installation upgrades to a newer version. If you’ve never used the Links Manager feature, however, or if your site is new, then this function will remain hidden – you will not see it 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 feature is not visible when you log into your WP admin area you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
This plugin displays the default Links feature on your WP dashboard, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to WordPress to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In the WordPress administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will show up in your navigation menu …
(Links management menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your WP navigation menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links Menu – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: What you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug displays in the web address 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. (Optional)
Click Add New Link Category to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories)
The new category will be added to the table …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for a new link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can relate to. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically display under the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something better suited to your business)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the item and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the link category name)
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 the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable 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)
Enter your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can start adding your links.
Adding New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in your admin menu …
(Links – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Name, Web Addressand Description)
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug is the search-engine friendly URL part of the link category name. Only use lower case letters and do not include 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for the link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve 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 the link should open when a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a separate web browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
- _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 – Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Leonora Cooper 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. Defining relationships with XFN makes the links defined on your site 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 specifies 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.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced link settings – Add New Link screen)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: 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 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 want 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 essential.
When you are done adding information about your link, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to save your new link)
Note: If you tick the Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private allows you to add a link and then toggle its visibility on or off without deleting it (this is useful if you would like your link to display during certain times and hide it afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all your links, click on Links > All Links in your WP 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, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional columns in the list of links, 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 selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Links screen – Show/hide screen options)
Editing Links
To modify links, choose Links > All Links in the WP dashboard menu to bring up the list of links …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing your link information)
Edit the link fields …
(Edit Link page)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click the Update Link button to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up the link’s URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To remove links, go to your WP navigation menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check boxes next to individual items that you would like to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove all selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The selected links will be removed …
(Link deletion notice)
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.
Using The Links Widget
Installing the Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in your admin menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This loads the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag the widget to one of your active widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you want your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to your sidebar)
The Links widget includes various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you want to show 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 create and display various links on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link rating, Link title, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sorting options)
When you have finished setting up your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will appear on your sidebar …
(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 detailed article on configuring widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sort, search, and filter functionality.
Sorting Links Function
To sort links, hover your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort links)
Search Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Finding your links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filtering your links by 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 page)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your site, or if you would like 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 links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin gives you the ability to output a list of your link categories with a complete list of all your links together with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your web site that contains all 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 links that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
Visit the plugin site to learn more this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other websites and pages in WordPress.
To learn more about how to insert links into WordPress posts, see this article:
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