As you continue to discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
WordPress refers to a list of links pointing to other websites or web pages that display on your sidebar 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 feature lets you easily add hyperlinks to a widgetized theme.
Prior to the release of WP v.3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. From version 3.5 onwards, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(The Link Manager displayed in the WordPress menu until the release of WordPress version 3.5)
After …
(The Link Manager feature is no longer part of WordPress after WordPress v3.5)
If you were using the Links feature in previous versions of WordPress, then it will still be available when you upgrade to newer WordPress versions. If you’ve never used the Links feature, however, or if your WordPress site installation is new, then this function will become invisible – you will not see it displayed on your 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 the Links feature is not visible when you log into your WordPress backend, you can add it by installing a plugin. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add, edit, delete and manage blogroll links on your site’s sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Plugin Description
You can use this plugin to display the built-in Link Manager, even if you update to a later version of WordPress or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to your installation to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, this plugin had not been updated for some time, 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 site’s template code.
Simple Links
(Simple Links)
Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Description Of Plugin
Simple Links recreates the same concept as the built-in Link Manager while removing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Plugin Installation
Let’s install the Link Manager plugin.
From your WordPress administration area, go to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins – Add New)
Select the Install Plugins > Search tab, 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 installing it …
Once you’ve activated the plugin, WordPress will display a ‘Links’ section in the admin menu …
(WordPress links menu section)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up your link categories first before you start adding links. This way, you can assign new links to link categories you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to the main dashboard navigation menu and choose Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
The ‘Link Categories’ screen will display in your browser.
Type in the following information:
- Name: Enter the category name.
- Slug: The slug is the URL part 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.
after entering your information, click the Add New Link Category button to save …
(Link Categories screen)
Your new category will now show in the list …
(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 default WordPress link category name to something that your visitors can relate to. This not only makes it easier for visitors, 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 link category name to something better suited to your business)
To change the default category name, hover your mouse over the category name and click on the Quick Edit link …
(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), then click on Update Link Category …
(Update Link Category)
In our example, we’ve replaced the category name ‘Blogroll’ with an appropriate links section category name (e.g. ‘Recommended’).
Let’s add 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 link category description field and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat the above process and add as many new link categories as you need.
After you have finished setting up your link categories, you can add new links.
Adding Links
To create a new link, choose Links > Add New in the dashboard navigation menu …
(Links Menu – Add New)
The ‘Add New Link’ page will display in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also reach this screen by clicking on the ‘Add New’ button in the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page includes a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
This section lets you enter your link details …
(Name, Web Address, Description – Add New Link page)
Enter information into the following sections:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug is the SEO friendly URL bit of the link category. Use only lowercase letters and do not include spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your 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 typing in your link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Categories & Target – Add New Link)
In the Categories section, select a link category you have already added, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Next, 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:
- _blank means that a separate web browser window will open up to display the content for that link.
- _none means that when a visitor clicks 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 just ignore this option.
Link Relationship XFN
This area provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) is a way to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Sarah Smith and you link to her blog, you would probably tick co-worker or colleague.
XFN relationships are optional. 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 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. Other ‘rel’ attributes include author, help, start, index, etc.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting this site:
Advanced
The last section lets you enter Advanced features for your links (You can leave the fields in this section empty unless there’s a good reason to use them) …
(Advanced section)
The Advanced section fields are as follows:
- Image Address: Specify an image to be displayed with the link. Add an image URL 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 display next to your link.
- 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).
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 save your new link …
(Click on Add Link to save your new link)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, the link will not be visible when links are displayed on your site …
(You can make links private by checking the box)
Making links private allows you to 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 all your links, go to the main admin menu and select Links > All Links …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ screen in your web browser. The Links screen displays your links and link information (e.g. link URL, link categories, relationship, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To show or hide columns in the Links table, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab at the top of your screen …
(Screen Options – List of links)
Enable/disable fields on your Links table by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Hide or display – Table of links)
Editing Links
To modify a link, go to the main navigation menu and select Links > All Links to bring up your table of links …
(Links – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s details …
(Editing links)
Make changes to the link information …
(Edit Link screen)
After editing the link, you can:
- Click on Update Link to save and update your link details,
- Click on Visit Link to check that you have set up its URL correctly (your link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your list …
(Edit Link: Update Link button)
How To Remove Links
To delete a link, choose Links > All Links in the WP navigation menu …
(Links Menu – All Links)
This loads the ‘Links’ page in your browser.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or delete all your links at once.
To delete individual links, hover your mouse cursor over the link that you want to remove and click on Delete …
(Deleting links)
To delete links in bulk, either tick the check box next to every link that you would like to remove, 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 Apply to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-deletion of links)
All the links you have selected will be deleted …
(Deleted links notice)
Plugin Usage
Now that you know how to set up link categories and how to add, edit and delete links, it’s time to learn how to display your links 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, choose Appearance > Widgets in your navigation menu …
(Appearance – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ screen.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
To make the ‘Links’ widget active, drag it to one of your active widget sections and drop it wherever you want the links section to display …
(Adding a links widget to your sidebar)
The Links widget offers various settings. You can specify what information you would like to display about your links and how many links you would like displayed on your sidebar menu …
(Link widget options)
You can add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and display links sorted by categories on your site …
(You can add multiple link widgets to your widget bars)
Select a link category from the ‘Select Link Category:’ dropdown menu …
(Link widget options – 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)
Once you are done configuring your links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your link section will now display on your website’s sidebar …
(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 using widgets. Go here to learn more about this:
Link Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin lets you easily administer these using search, sort, and filter functions.
Sorting Your 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 triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can sort your links)
Searching Links
Find links using the ‘Search Links’ button …
(Search links)
Filter Your Links
You can filter links by link categories …
(Filtering your 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 category links in the ‘Links’ column …
(Search and filter links in the Link Categories page)
This displays a list of all links listed under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by link category)
Additional Link Options
If you plan to use links extensively on your website or blog, or if you intend to add a page containing a list of links to your site (i.e. not just add links on your sidebar), then you may want to look at using a plugin that can help you administer your links.
Link Library
(Link Library WordPress Plugin)
Plugin URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
The Link Library plugin gives you the ability to publish a list of all your link categories and a complete list of links plus notes and descriptions …
(Link Library links. Image: Link Library plugin documentation.)
Link Library creates a page on your web site containing a list of all of the link categories in your Links section, plus all links listed in 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 so that your site users can be made aware of additions to your link library.
For more details about using this WordPress plugin, go here:
Congratulations! Now you know how to add external links to WordPress.
We have also written a detailed article about adding hyperlinks into WordPress here:
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