As you learn more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or pages that display on your sidebar section 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.”
You can manage a link section using the Links menu in your WordPress Dashboard. These links will display on your website if you have added the Links widget.
Before WordPress v3.5 was released, Links were a core feature of the WordPress CMS. From v 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were kept hidden by default in new WordPress installations …
Before …
(WordPress Links Manager – pre v 3.5)
After …
(Post v 3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If your website previously used this feature, then it will still be available when your WordPress installation updates to a newer version. If you’ve never used Links Manager, however, or if your website is new, then this function will become invisible – it will not be displayed on your 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 Link Manager section when you log into your WP dashboard you will need to install a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager – WordPress Link Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin restores the Link Manager, even if you upgrade to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your existing links.
Note: This plugin adds a single line of template code to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for a while, but it should still work fine. If you don’t want to use the Link Manager plugin, then use the plugin below instead, or contact us for help editing your template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links attempts to recreate the same concept as the built-in WP Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow the instructions below:
In the WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
Click on the Install Plugins > Search tab, type ”link manager” into the search field and hit Enter …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
After activation, the ‘Links’ function is restored to the WP sidebar menu …
(WordPress links menu)
Setting Up The Plugin
We recommend setting up your link categories first before adding links. This way, you can assign any new links to a link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a new link category, click on Links > Link Categories in your WP admin menu …
(Links – Link Categories)
This brings up the ‘Link Categories’ screen in your web browser.
Enter the following information:
- Name: Whatever you type here displays as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug appears in the 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.
When finished, click the Add New Link Category button …
(Link Categories)
The category details will be added to the list …
(Link Categories)
Tip: WordPress calls its default link category Blogroll . Unless you specify the category when creating a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category)
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 ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(Edit the default link category)
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 …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, the link category name ‘Blogroll’ has been replaced with an appropriate links section name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s create a description for this link category. To add a description to an existing link category, hover over the item name and click Edit …
(Link category description)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update finished to save your settings …
(Edit Link Category screen)
Repeat this process to add as many new link categories as your site requires.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can start adding new links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, go to the WP admin menu and click on Links > Add New …
(WP Links – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will load in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of the main Links screen …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section is where you enter details about your link …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: What you enter here will display as the category your links will be assigned to.
- Slug: The slug appears in the web address of the link category name. 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)
Categories & Target
After typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for the new link …
(Categories & Target area – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, tick one of the link categories you have already set up, or click on the ‘+ Add New Category’ link to add a new category.
Next, 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 a visitor clicks on it:
- _blank means that when a visitor clicks on the link, a new, separate window will open up in their web browser to display the content associated with the link. This lets your visitors access the information without leaving your site
- _none means that when visitors click on the 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) section)
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 Max Gould 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 your links will still work. XFN makes your links more understandable to some websites 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 a 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, index, help, etc. Separate multiple ‘rel’ keywords with spaces.
To learn more about XFN, visit this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you 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 section – Add New Link)
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 your 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 your links.
- 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).
Enter information into the above fields or just leave this section blank.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to update your link settings)
Note: If you select the checkbox next to Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(Private link checkbox)
Making a link private lets you toggle link visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want your link to display during certain periods and hide it after it’s no longer required) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all the links you have created, click on Links > All Links in the main dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The Links screen displays your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Links page)
Tip: To view or hide fields in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Screen Options – Table of links)
Display/hide fields on your Links table by ticking/unticking their checkboxes …
(Show/hide links)
Editing Link Information
To edit a link, go to your navigation menu and choose Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(Links – All Links)
Select the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the item’s link details …
(Editing links)
Make the changes you want to your link …
(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 the link’s URL correctly (the link will open up in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your list if it’s no longer required …
(Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To remove links, choose Links > All Links in your WP dashboard menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
The ‘Links’ page will display in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links by selecting their check boxes, or delete all of your links.
To delete links individually, hover your cursor over the link title that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete links in bulk, either click on the checkboxes next to individual items that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header …
(Deleting multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu, and click Apply to remove your selected links …
(Links: bulk-delete 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, it’s time to make links display on your site.
Using The Links Widget
The Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to your navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your 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 sections and drop it wherever you would like your links section to show up …
(Adding a links widget to a widgetized area)
The Links widget includes a number of options. For example, you can specify what information you want to display about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget - configurable settings)
You can add multiple link widgets to your sidebars and footers. This allows you to create and display various link categories on your site …
(Add a number of link widgets to your sidebar)
Display a list of items for a specific category …
(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 options – Sort by options)
Once you are done configuring the links widget, click Save to update your settings. Your links should show on your website …
(An example of how 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? We have written a detailed article about adding widgets. For more details, go here:
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 features.
Sort Links
You can sort links by hovering your mouse over the title of the column you want to sort and clicking on the little triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Search Links Function
Type a search term into the search field and click the Search Links button …
(You can easily find links using the search function)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by categories …
(Filter links by link category)
You can also search and filter links in the Link Categories screen. Use the ‘Search Link Categories’ button to find link categories, or click on the links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links listed for a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website, or if you intend 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.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin lets you output a list of all your link categories with a complete list of all your links plus descriptions and notes …
(List of links created with Link library. Image sourced from Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library can be used to create a page on your site that contains a list of all of 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 for your links 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 how to add a blogroll and manage links to external sites in your WordPress sidebar menu.
Go here to learn more about creating hyperlinks in your WordPress posts:
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