As you continue to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, you may occasionally come across something called a blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external websites or web pages displayed 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.”
You can manage a link section using the Links menu in your Dashboard. These links will display on your site if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Links Manager – included in the menu until the release of WP v 3.5)
After …
(Post v3.5 – no WordPress Links Manager)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 installed and upgraded your installation, the Link Manager would have been removed, unless you’ve 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 the Links Manager section when you log into your WP admin area 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)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description
You can use this plugin to display the Link Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to WordPress 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links – Links Manager Plugin For WordPress)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Installing The Plugin
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
In your WP administration menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, then type ”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 be displayed on your WP admin menu …
(WordPress links management menu)
Setting Up The Plugin
Before adding links, it’s a good idea to set up your link categories. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign the link to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, select Links > Link Categories in the WP navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ page in your web browser.
Type in information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the search-engine friendly URL 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 …
(Link Categories page)
Your category details will now show in the table …
(Link Categories)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify a category for a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this default WordPress link category name to something that will make sense to blog readers. This will not only make it easier for users of your site, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(we recommend changing the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on Quick Edit …
(Edit the link category name)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the link category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Resources’ etc).
Let’s now add a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on the Edit link under the category name …
(You can add/edit your category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ page and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process to add as many link categories as your site needs.
Once you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding New Links
To create a new link, go to the main dashboard menu and select Links > Add New …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
The first section is where you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the link category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the web address bit of your link category name. Only use lower case 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
After adding your link details, select a Category and Target for your new link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link 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 where you want your link to open when clicked on by visitors:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a separate browser window will open up to display the information associated with the link.
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will leave your site and a new site or page will load in your web 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 ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Add New Link – Link Relationship (XFN))
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 Alexis Jones 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 still work. 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 defines 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. Separate multiple ‘rel’ attributes with spaces.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ screen allows you to enter Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields empty unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced fields – Add New Link page)
The Advanced link settings section includes the following options:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the image URL and make sure that your image is small (around 16×16 like a favicon).
- RSS Address: If your theme allows it, the link’s RSS feed will display 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 in 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 Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the Keep this link private checkbox, the link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Private link checkbox)
Making links private lets you add links and then toggle their 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 the links you have added, go to your dashboard menu and choose Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The table of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To display additional options in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(List of links – Screen Options)
Show/hide information on your table of links by ticking/unticking their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Your Link Information
To edit a link, click on Links > All Links in the main navigation menu to bring up your list of links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the item to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing your link information)
Change the link details …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to view your link and check that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link if you no longer require it …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Your Links
To remove links from the Link Manager, go to your navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ screen.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all of your links.
To delete links individually, hover over the link title you want removed and click Delete …
(Delete your links)
To delete multiple links, either tick the check boxes next to individual links that you would like to remove, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
Your links will be removed …
(Deleted links message)
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 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 dashboard menu and select Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will notice that a ‘Links’ widget has been added to the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of the active widget bars in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to your WordPress widget bar using drag and drop)
The Links widget provides various settings. For example, you can specify what information you would like displayed about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This lets you create and display specific link sections throughout your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Display links for a specific category …
(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 settings – Sorting options)
Once you are done configuring your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links should show on your sidebar menu …
(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 using widgets. For more details:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with search, sort, and filter features.
Sorting Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(Sort your links)
Search Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button to find links …
(Searching links)
Filter Links
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering links by 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 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 link category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot 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 WordPress Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library lets you output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links with notes and descriptions …
(List of links created with Link library. Image source: Link Library plugin website.)
This plugin creates a page on your website containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links area, plus 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 link collection that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
To learn more about the Link Library plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add a blogroll to WordPress.
To learn more about inserting links into WordPress posts and pages, refer to this article:
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)