As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or pages that display on your sidebar section 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 add links to a widgetized theme.
Before WordPress v 3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Links Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Feature – pre version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature – excluded from WordPress after WordPress v3.5)
If you have had an earlier version than v 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, then 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 your main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add this feature by installing a plugin. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to add and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
The Link Manager plugin displays the built-in Links menu on your WordPress dashboard, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add 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 a while, 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 WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WP admin area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, a ‘Links’ section will show up in your WP dashboard menu area …
(WordPress links menu)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before adding new links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category. 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 Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
Your link category will display in the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when creating a new link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something better suited to your business. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Consider changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, 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 the Update link Category button …
(Editing the link category name)
In our example, the category ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can being adding new links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, select Links > Add New in your admin menu …
(WordPress Links – Add New)
You will be taken to the ‘Add New Link’ page …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section lets you enter your link details …
(Add New Link screen – Name, Web Address, Description section)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you enter in this field will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug is the URL bit of the link category name. Only use lower case letters without 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.
Categories & Target
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target area)
In the Categories section, tick a link category you’ve already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category link.
Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify where the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. Your visitor will be able to access the link information without leaving your website
- _none means that when visitors click 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link page – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
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 Ignatius Smith 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 still work. Defining relationships with 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 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, index, help, start, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave the fields in this section blank unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced area – Add New Link)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL 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 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Type in your 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 Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to use seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view a list of all your links, select Links > All Links in your dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen. The list of links displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional options in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Show/hide fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To edit a link in the Link Manager, go to your WP dashboard menu and select Links > All Links to bring up the list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Edit your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to see your link and make sure that you have set up everything correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your link table if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
Removing Links
To remove links, go to the dashboard navigation menu and select Links > All Links …
(WP Links – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your cursor over the link title you want removed and click Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the check box next to each item that you would like deleted, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
The links will be deleted …
(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 learn how to make links display on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ page.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main admin menu and click on Appearance > Widgets …
(WordPress Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your browser.
You will see that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the widget sections in the Widgets screen and drop it wherever you want the links to show up …
(Drag and drop your links widget to add it to a widgetized area)
The Links widget offers various options. For example, you can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - settings)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This lets you add and feature specific link categories on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
You can 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 title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring your Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section should display on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have placed the links widget in …
(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 with widgets? If you want to learn more about using widgets, refer to this article:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using search, filter, and sort functions.
Sorting Your Links
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 …
(You can easily sort your links)
Finding Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can search links using the search function)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter 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 screen)
This displays 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 website, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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 Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin lets you output a list of your link categories and a complete list of all your links together with descriptions and notes …
(Link Library links. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin creates a page on your web site containing all the link categories in your Links section, 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 for your link collection that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
We have also written a comprehensive article on inserting HTML links into your WordPress posts & pages here:
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