As you become more familiar with WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
In WordPress terminology, a list of hyperlinks displayed on your sidebar is often 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 add external hyperlinks to a widget-ready theme.
Before WordPress version 3.5 was released, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After v 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager – part of the menu until the release of WP version 3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links Manager)
If you’ve used an earlier version of WordPress than 3.5 and updated your installation, then 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 section on your main menu when you log into your WP admin area, you can add it via a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your sidebar using WordPress plugins.
Link Manager
(Links Manager WordPress Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
Use this plugin to restore the built-in Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of code to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin attempts to recreate the concept of the built-in WP Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
How To Install Link Manager
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
In the WordPress administration menu, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after it has been installed …
After activation, the ‘Links’ function will be restored to the navigation menu …
(WordPress links management menu)
Plugin Configuration
Before you start adding new links, it’s a good idea to first set up your link categories. This way, you can assign any new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the admin menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(WordPress Links – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ page will display in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: What you type in this field displays as the link category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part of your link category name. It must be in lowercase letters and contain no spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click Add New Link Category to save …
(Link Categories)
The new category will display in the table …
(Link Categories area)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify a category when adding a link, WordPress will assign new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this default link category name to something that will make sense to your site visitors. This not only makes it easier for visitors, but any new links that you add to your site will automatically be assigned to the new category name …
(Change the default link category name to something your visitors will understand)
To edit the default category name, hover your mouse over the list item and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Editing the default link category)
Replace both the Name and the Slug with a new category name, then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with a more suitable name (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Our Sponsors’ etc).
Let’s now add a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the link category name and click Edit …
(You can add/edit the category description)
Add your link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as your site requires.
After setting up your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add New Links
To add a new link, click on Links > Add New in your WP navigation menu …
(WordPress Links – Add New)
This brings up the ‘Add New Link’ screen …
(Add New Link screen)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links page …
(Links – Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into various sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter details about your link in this section …
(Add New Link screen – Name, Web Address, Description fields)
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type in this field is the category name that will display on your site.
- Slug: The slug appears in the search-engine friendly URL of the link category name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display a link category description. (Optional)
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target area – Add New Link page)
In the Categories section, select a link category you’ve already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Also, select a target frame radio button for your link in the Target section. This lets you specify where you want the link to open when visitors click on it:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their browser to display the content for that link. This lets your visitors access the link information without leaving your site
- _none means that when a visitor clicks on your link, they will exit 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 area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN) fields – Add New Link)
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN stands for XML Friends Network – allows you to define your relationship to the linked person. For example, if you work with Dylan Jones and you link to his blog, you would probably check co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. You can leave everything in this section blank and all of your links will still work. XFN makes the links defined on your site 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section of the Add New Link’ page lets you specify Advanced features for your links (some themes will ignore this. You can leave these fields blank unless you have a reason to use them) …
(Advanced section)
The Advanced section fields include the following:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. 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 can be displayed next to your 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 want to sort links by rating (see the ‘Links’ widget section below).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on Add Link to save your new link …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you tick the checkbox next to Keep this link private, your link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(You can make links private by checking the box)
Making links private lets you toggle link visibility on or off without deleting these (this is useful if you want to add seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To see all the links you have added to the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ screen. The list of links displays all of your links and link information (e.g. link URL, categories, rating, etc.) …
(List of links)
Tip: To view additional fields in the table of links, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Links table – Screen Options)
Display/hide information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
How To Edit Your Link Information
To modify a link in the Link Manager, go to the WP dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links to bring up your links screen …
(WordPress Links – All Links)
Locate the item you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing links)
Edit your link fields …
(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 see your link and make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to delete the link …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To delete links, select Links > All Links in the WP dashboard navigation menu …
(Links – All Links)
This takes you to the ‘Links’ table.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all of your links at once.
To delete links individually, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click on Delete …
(Deleting your links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the checkboxes next to individual items that you would like removed, or select all links by clicking on the check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click the Apply button to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete function)
The selected links will be removed …
(links deleted notification)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to configure link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to make links display on your site.
Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ section.
To access and configure your Link widgets, choose Appearance > Widgets in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
The ‘Widgets’ page will load in your web browser.
You will notice 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 active widget sections in the Widgets page and drop it wherever you would like the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your widget bar)
The Links widget includes various configurable options. For example, you can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and feature specific multiple links throughout your site …
(You can add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
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 title, Link ID, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget settings – Sorting options)
After configuring the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. A link section will display on your sidebar, footer or wherever you have added the links widget to …
(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 more help with widgets? Go here for a detailed article about using widgets:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have loads of links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with filtering, sorting, and searching functionality.
Sorting Your Links
You can sort links by hovering your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort links)
Searching Your Links
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(Searching links function)
Filtering Links Function
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter links by category)
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 …
(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 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 a links section to your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer links.
Link Library
(Link library – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Download Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to display 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. Screenshot taken from Link Library plugin documentation.)
This useful plugin can be used to create a page on your web site containing all the link categories in your Links area, 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 for your link collection that lets your site users become aware of additions to your link library.
For more information about the benefits of using this useful plugin, visit this website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to external sites in WordPress.
If you want to learn more about adding HTML links in WordPress posts, refer to this article:
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now