As you continue to learn more about using WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar area.
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 a widget-ready theme.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From v.3.5 onwards, the Links Manager section was kept hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre v 3.5)
After …
(Post v.3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If your website had the Links Manager installed, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used Link Manager, however, or if your site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – 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 Links feature when you log into your WordPress dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
You can use this plugin to display the default Link Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to your installation 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 plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WordPress Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these step-by-step instructions:
In the WordPress admin area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – 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 area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ section on the WP sidebar menu screen …
(WordPress links menu section)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up link categories first before you start adding links. This way, when you add a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, go to the main admin menu and click on Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will display in your browser.
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: What you type here displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug displays in the SEO friendly URL of the link category name. 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)
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories page)
Your link category will be added to the table …
(Link Categories screen)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change the default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can understand. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category name ‘Blogroll’ with a name more suitable to your purposes (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Special Deals’ etc).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Enter your link category description field and click Update when done …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as your site requires.
Once you have set up your link categories, you can being adding new links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and select Links > Add New …
(WordPress Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into several sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address, Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the SEO friendly URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a 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
Select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
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.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) area – Add New Link screen)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Aiden Anderson and you link to his 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 work just fine. Defining relationships with XFN makes your links 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 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, start, help, index, 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’ screen lets you specify Advanced features for your links (You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced link settings)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add the image URL 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 can display next to the link.
- 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 would like 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 update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, your link will not be visible in your Blogroll section …
(You can make links private by checking the box)
Making links private allows you to toggle link visibility on and off without deleting your links (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have added to the Link Manager, select Links > All Links in your dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This brings up the ‘Links’ page. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To view or hide columns in the list of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Show/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To edit links, choose Links > All Links in the dashboard menu to bring up your links page …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Select the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Make any changes you want to your link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to make sure that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link from your list if it’s no longer required …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To delete links, choose Links > All Links in your WP admin menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your 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 links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the checkbox next to each item that you would like removed, 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 delete all selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected 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 make links display on your website.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, select Appearance > Widgets in your dashboard navigation menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This takes you to the ‘Widgets’ screen.
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 areas and drop it wherever you would like the links to show up …
(Drag & drop your links widget to add it to your WordPress widget bar)
The Links widget offers various configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you add and display specific several links throughout your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display a specific list of items …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sort by options)
When you have finished setting up the Links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A links will now display on your sidebar …
(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 adding widgets, see this article:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with sorting, searching, and filtering functions.
Sorting Your Links
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort your links)
Searching Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(Finding links function)
Filtering Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering your links by link category)
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 intend 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 consider using a plugin that can help you administer links, like Link Library.
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 your link categories with a complete list of links with descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin creates a page on your site that contains all the link categories in your Links area, and all links defined for 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 links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Visit this website to learn more this great plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to WordPress.
Go here if you would like to learn more about how to easily insert HTML hyperlinks into WordPress posts:
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)