As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or blogs that display on your sidebar section.
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 add links to your sidebar section (e.g. a “Top 10 Resources” section) using a widget.
Before the release of WP v.3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After v.3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre v 3.5)
After …
(The Links Manager – no longer shown in the menu after WP v3.5)
If you’ve had an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then the Links Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used the Link Manager feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed 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 you can’t see the Link Manager section when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. This tutorial will show you how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
The Link Manager plugin displays the Links feature on your WP dashboard, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template 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 WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin recreates the same concept as the built-in WordPress Links Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin on your website, follow the instructions below:
From the WP dashboard menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activating the plugin, a ‘Links’ section will show on the WP admin menu screen …
(WordPress links menu section)
Plugin Setup
Before adding any new links, we recommend setting up your link categories. 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, click on Links > Link Categories in the WP navigation menu …
(WP Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the 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)
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category …
(Link Categories)
The category details will now show in the list …
(Link Categories)
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 is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change the default link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default link category name 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 …
(Editing 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, the category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process to add as many different link categories as you need.
After setting up your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, click on Links > Add New in your WP dashboard menu …
(WordPress Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen 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 various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of the link category. Use lowercase letters only 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.
Categories & Target
Select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link page – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you’ve already set up, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category.
Next, 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 your link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the information for that link. Your visitor will be able to access the link information without leaving your site
- _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 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Amanda Cooper and you link to her blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of 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 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, type nofollow into this field.
To learn more about XFN, visit the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter 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 page)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Lets you 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 RSS feed associated with the link will be displayed next to the links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 into the above fields or just leave this section blank, as these fields are not essential for links to work.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on the Add Link button 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 when links are displayed on your site …
(You can make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on or off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want links to display during certain periods and hide them afterwards) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view a list of all your links, select Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser. The Links table displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To display additional information in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – Links page)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Table of links – Hide or show screen options)
Editing Links
To edit a link, go to your WP navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your links table …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your links)
Change the link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing the 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 its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your table of links if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
How To Delete Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to your dashboard menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ screen will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the checkbox next to every link that you want deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ pull-down menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
All the links you have selected will be removed …
(Link deletion message)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to display links on your website.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, click on Appearance > Widgets in your navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your browser.
You will notice a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget areas and drop it wherever you would like the links to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget provides a number of configurable settings. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar and footer as you want. This lets you create and feature link categories on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – 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)
After setting up the links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links will display 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 help using widgets? We have written a comprehensive article on widgets here:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using searching, sorting, and filtering features.
Sort Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sorting links function)
Searching Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to search for links …
(Search your links)
Filtering Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter 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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
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 lots of links to your website or blog, or if you would like to add a ‘Links’ page to your site (i.e. not just add links on your sidebar), then you may want to consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library gives you the ability to publish a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin can be used to create a page on your web site containing all the link categories in your Links section, plus all links listed in 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 for your links that lets your site users be made aware of additions to your link library.
Go here to learn more about the benefits of using this handy plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
We have written a detailed article on how to insert links into WordPress posts. For more info, see this article:
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group