As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of links 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.”
The Links Manager lets you easily add and manage a links section to your WordPress sidebar area (e.g. a “We Use And Recommend” section) using widgets.
Before the release of WordPress v3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(Links – included in the WordPress menu until the release of WP v3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Link Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve previously used it. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your WP installation is new, then this function will remain hidden – it will not be displayed on the 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 you can’t see the Links feature when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin displays the default Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of code to your installation 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 this plugin, then use the one below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
Simple Links recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing Link Manager
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WordPress admin 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 search results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After the plugin is activated, WordPress will restore the ‘Links’ functionality to your WP navigation menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Setting Up Link Manager
Before adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, you can assign new links to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the WP dashboard menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links – Link Categories)
This takes you to the ‘Link Categories’ page.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you type here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL 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.
Click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories)
Your category details will display in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when adding a new link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. 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 listed under the new category name …
(Consider changing the default link category name to something your visitors will relate to)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name 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), and click on Update Link Category …
(Editing the default link category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the link category name ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a link category description. To add a link category description, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(Link category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category page)
Repeat this process and add as many link categories as your site requires.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can start adding new links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, click on Links > Add New in your navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ screen will load in your web browser …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links screen …
(Links screen – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter your link details …
(Add New Link page – Name, Web Address, Description)
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you enter here will display as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug shows up in the search-engine 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
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Add New Link – Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already created, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how the link should open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on your link, a separate browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link. This allows your visitors to see the information without leaving your website
- _none means that when visitors click on the link, they will leave your site and a new site 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. If you don’t use frames, or if you don’t know what frames are, then ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This section provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link screen – Link Relationship (XFN) fields)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Hannah Jenkins and you link to her 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. XFN makes the links defined on your site more understandable to some websites 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 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, enter nofollow into this field.
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 ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced fields)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is located 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 the link.
- 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).
Type in your information in the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding information about your link, 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 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 or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To see all your links, choose Links > All Links in your dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will display in your browser. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, link categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view additional fields in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Enable/disable fields on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to the admin menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(WP Links – All Links)
Select the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link information …
(Editing your links)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link page)
After editing your link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up everything correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
Deleting Your Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in your WP navigation menu …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ table will load in your web browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link title that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you want to be removed, or select all links by clicking on the main checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-deletion function)
The links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links notification)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to display your links on your website or blog.
Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in the WP navigation menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will display in your web browser.
You will see 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 your widget sections and drop it wherever you want the links to display …
(Add a links widget to your widget bar using drag & drop)
The Links widget offers various settings. You can specify what information you want to show about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget options)
You can add as many link widgets to your sidebar as you want. This lets you create and display specific a number of link sections sorted by categories on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your widget bars)
You can add and display a list of items 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 options – Sorting options)
After setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will show up immediately on your sidebar …
(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 comprehensive article about adding widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Links Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these using filtering, sorting, and searching functionality.
Sort Links
To sort links, hover your 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 sort links)
Searching Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Search links function)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering your links by link categories)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories page. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you want 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 look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links, like Link Library.
Link Library
(Link Library)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin lets you output a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image sourced from Link Library plugin site.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your web site containing all the link categories in your Links section, plus all links defined for 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 of your links so that your site users can be made aware of any additions made to to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add a blogroll and manage links in WordPress.
We have also written a detailed article about adding links in your WordPress content here:
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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