As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of links pointing to external websites or web pages that display on your sidebar menu.
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 display a links section on your site using the Link Manager plugin for WordPress.
Before the release of version 3.5, Links were a visible feature of the WordPress CMS. After the release of WordPress v.3.5, the Link Manager section was removed …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre v 3.5)
After …
(Post v.3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than v 3.5 and upgraded your installation, the Link 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 item on your main menu when you log into your WordPress admin area, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this step-by-step 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)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
Use this plugin to display the default Links 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 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 WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated functionality.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From the WP admin menu, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type in “link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Find the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installation …
After activation, WordPress displays a ‘Links’ section in your WP dashboard menu area …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Setup
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, when adding a new link, you can assign your link to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, choose Links > Link Categories in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will load in your browser.
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Whatever you enter here is the link category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears 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.
Click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories page)
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 adding a link, WordPress will automatically assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name)
You may want to change this to something that will make sense to visitors. This will not only make it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to the Links section will automatically be listed under the new category name …
(Change the default ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit 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), and click on the Update link Category button …
(Quick Edit)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s insert a link category description. To add a description to an existing link category, click on Edit under the category name …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Enter your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update when you’re done …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process and add as many new link categories as your site requires.
After configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
Adding Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in the main admin menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
This loads the Add New Link’ page in your web browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on ’Add New’ in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page has various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Name, Web Address& Description area)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL of the 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. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After adding link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to add a new category.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify how your link should open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new, separate window will open up in their browser to display the content associated with the link. This lets your visitors see the information without leaving your page
- _none means that when visitors click on your link, they will exit your site and a new website 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. 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – lets you define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you work with Jasmine Schwartz and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional for WordPress links. You can ignore this section and your links will work just fine. 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 lets you specify the ‘rel’ attribute that will be assigned to your link. The rel attribute is used to define a relationship 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, index, help, start, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section allows you to specify Advanced features for your links (You can ignore this section, unless there’s a good reason to use it) …
(Advanced section – Add New Link)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is stored 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 be displayed next to your links.
- Notes: This section lets you add notes 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 into the above fields or just leave this section ignore this section.
When you are done adding your new link information, click on Add Link to update your link settings …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you tick Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make your links private)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Toggle link visibility on and off)
To view a list of all the links you have added, go to the main navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your browser. The Links screen displays all your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links screen)
Tip: To show or hide information in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Links page – Screen Options)
Show/hide fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify links in the Link Manager, go to the WP navigation menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links table …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link to be edited and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing your links)
Make changes to your link …
(Edit Link screen)
After you’re done editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up everything correctly (the 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 Delete Your Links
To remove links, go to your dashboard menu and select Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will load in your 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 that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkboxes next to individual links that you want removed, or select all links by clicking on the checkbox next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Delete multiple links)
Choose Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
The links will be removed …
(Link deletion notice)
Using The Plugin
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, let’s show you how to make links display on your website.
Using The Links Widget
The Link Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the main navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page 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 your links section to show up …
(Add a links widget to your widget bar using drag and drop)
The Links widget offers various configurable options. 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 - configurable options)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to add and feature links on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Display a list of links for a specific category …
(Link widget settings – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link title, Link rating, Link ID, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
When you have finished configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links should display on your website’s sidebar menu …
(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 help using widgets? Go here if you would like to learn more about configuring widgets:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these with sort, filter, and search functions.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your mouse 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 your links)
Search Links Function
You can search for links using the ‘Search Links’ feature …
(You can easily find your links with the search function)
Filter Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filter links by link 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 …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This brings up a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to add lots of links to your site, or if you want to add a ‘Links’ page 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 – WordPress Links Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
This plugin allows you to output a list of your link categories and a complete list of links with notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image source: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your site that contains 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 of your links that lets your site users become aware of any additions made to to your link library.
Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other sites in WordPress.
We have written a comprehensive article about creating HTML links in WordPress posts and pages. For more details:
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