As you discover more about WordPress, you may occasionally come across references to the term blogroll.
A blogroll is a list of hyperlinks pointing to external sites or 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.”
The Links Manager lets you add hyperlinks to your sidebar (e.g. a “Recommended Resources” section) using a widget.
Prior to the release of WordPress version 3.5, Links were a built-in feature of the WordPress CMS. After version 3.5, the Links manager and blogroll sections were hidden by default in new installations …
Before …
(WP Links Manager – pre v3.5)
After …
(Post version 3.5 – no WP Links feature)
If you have had an earlier version of WordPress than v.3.5 installed 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 section on the main menu when you log into your WordPress admin area, you can add this feature via a plugin. In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to add and manage blogroll links on your sidebar using plugins.
Link Manager
(Link Manager Plugin)
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager
Description Of Plugin
This plugin restores the built-in Links Manager, even if you upgrade WordPress to a later version or remove all of your current links.
Note: All this plugin does is add a single line of template code to restore the hidden feature. When we last checked, the 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)
Plugin Download URL
https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-links/
Plugin Description
This plugin recreates the concept of the built-in WordPress Links Manager while addressing the shortcomings of the deprecated feature.
Installing The Plugin
To install the Link Manager plugin, follow these instructions:
In your WP dashboard area, 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 …
Locate the plugin in the results screen and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after it has been installed …
Once the plugin is activated, WordPress restores the ‘Links’ function to the navigation menu area …
(Links management menu section)
Plugin Configuration
We recommend setting up link categories first before adding links. This way, when you create a new link, you can assign your link to the link category you have already created.
Link Categories
To create a link category, go to your WP dashboard menu and select Links > Link Categories …
(Links Menu – Link Categories)
You will be taken to the ‘Link Categories’ screen.
Enter information into the following fields:
- Name: What 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 name. Use only lowercase letters without spaces (use hyphens to separate words).
- Description: Some themes may display your link category description.
Click the Add New Link Category button to save your new link category name …
(Link Categories screen)
The category details will be added to the table …
(Link Categories page)
Tip: Blogroll is the default link category name. Unless you specify the category for a link, WordPress automatically assigns new links to the default category …
(Default link category name is ‘blogroll’)
You may want to change this to something better suited to your business. 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 ’blogroll’ to something your visitors will understand)
To change the ‘Blogroll’ link title, hover your mouse over the list item and click on Quick Edit …
(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)
Replace the category ‘Blogroll’ with (e.g. ‘Recommended’, ‘Links’ etc).
Let’s create 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)
Add your description in the ‘Edit Link Category’ screen and click Update …
(Edit Link Category area)
Repeat this process to add as many link categories as you need.
After configuring your link categories, you can add your links.
How To Add Links
To add a new link, select Links > Add New in the WP admin menu …
(Links – Add New)
This brings up the Add New Link’ page in your browser …
(Add New Link page)
You can also access this page by clicking on ’Add New’ at the top of the main Links page …
(Add New Link button)
The ‘Add New Links’ page is divided into a number of sections:
Name, Web Address & Description
Enter your link details in this section …
(Add New Link – Name, Web Address& Description area)
Type in information into the following fields:
- Name: Enter the category name here.
- Slug: The slug displays in the URL of the 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.
Categories & Target
After typing in link details, select a Category and Target for your link …
(Add New Link screen – Categories & Target section)
In the Categories section, select one of the link categories you’ve already created, or click on ’+ Add New Category’ to create a new category link.
Next, select a target frame for your link in the Target section by choosing one of the radio buttons. This lets you specify how you want the link to open when clicked on:
- _blank means that a new window will open up in their browser to display the content for that link.
- _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. 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 section provides some additional link functionality …
(Link Relationship (XFN))
Link Relationship (XFN) – XFN (XML Friends Network) allows you to define your relationship with the linked person. For example, if you have a professional relationship with Kevin Jenkins 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 work just fine. Defining relationships with 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 defines the 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.
You can learn more about XFN by visiting the site below:
Advanced
The last section allows you to 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 link settings)
The Advanced section contain the following fields:
- Image Address: Lets you specify an image to be displayed with the link. To use this feature, add the URL of where the image is located 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: 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, as these fields are not required.
When you have finished adding information about your link, click on the Add Link button to update your link settings …
(Click on the Add Link button to update your link settings)
Note: If you select Keep this link private, your link will not be visible in your Links section …
(Make links private by selecting the checkbox)
Making a link private lets you add a link and then toggle its visibility on and off without deleting it (this is useful if you want to have seasonal links) …
(Making links private toggles their visibility on and off)
To view all your links, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and click on Links > All Links …
(Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ table. The Links table displays all your links and link information (e.g. URL, categories, visibility, etc.) …
(Table of links)
Tip: To view additional options in the Links page, click on the ‘Screen Options’ tab near the top of the screen …
(Links screen – Screen Options)
Enable/disable information on your table of links by selecting/deselecting their check boxes …
(Links table – Show/hide screen options)
How To Edit Your Links
To modify links, select Links > All Links in your admin menu to bring up your links screen …
(WordPress Links Menu – All Links)
Locate the link you want to edit and click on Edit to bring up the link’s information …
(Editing link information)
Make changes to the 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 make sure that you have set up its URL correctly (the link will open in a new window),
- Click Delete to remove the link from your table …
(Update Link button)
Removing Your Links
To delete links from the Link Manager, go to the main dashboard menu and click on Links > All Links …
(WP Links Menu – All Links)
You will be taken to the ‘Links’ page.
You can delete links individually, delete multiple links, or perform a bulk delete.
To delete individual links, hover over the link that you want to remove from the link table and click Delete …
(Delete links)
To delete a number of links at once, either tick the checkbox next to each link that you want to delete, or select all links by clicking on the main check box next to the ‘Name’ column header at the top of the list …
(Delete multiple links)
Select Delete from the ‘Bulk Actions’ drop-down menu, and click the Apply button to delete your selected links …
(Bulk-delete links)
The links you have selected will be removed …
(links deleted message)
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 make links display on your website or blog.
Links Widget
Installing the Links Manager plugin adds a ‘Links’ widget to your ‘Widgets’ screen.
To access and configure your Link widgets, go to the WP dashboard navigation menu and choose Appearance > Widgets …
(WP Appearance Menu – Widgets)
This brings up the ‘Widgets’ page in your web browser.
You will see a ‘Links’ widget in the Available Widgets section …
(Links widget)
Drag the ‘Links’ widget to one of your widget areas and drop it wherever you want the links to display …
(Adding a links widget to your WordPress widget bar using drag and drop)
The Links widget offers a number of configurable settings. For example, you can specify what information you want displayed about your links and how many links you want displayed on your sidebar …
(Link widget options)
You can also add as many link widgets as you want. This allows you to create and feature link lists on your site …
(Add multiple link widgets to your sidebar)
Select a link category to display specific links …
(Link widget options – Select Link Category)
You can sort links by Link ID, Link title, Link rating, or display links in Random order …
(Link widget options – Sort by options)
Once you are done setting up the links widget, click the Save button to update your settings. Your links will become visible on your sidebar, footer or wherever you place the widget in …
(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 more help using widgets? We have written a detailed article about configuring widgets. Go here to learn more:
Links Manager – Additional Information
If you have added many links, the Link Manager plugin allows you to easily administer these with searching, filtering, and sorting functions.
Sorting Links
To sort links, hover your cursor over the title of the column you want to sort and click on the little black triangle displayed next to the column title …
(You can easily sort your links)
Searching Links
Search for links using the ‘Search Links’ function …
(Search links)
Filter Links Function
You can filter links by link category …
(Filtering your links by categories)
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 …
(searching and filtering links in the Link Categories screen)
This displays a list of all links grouped under a specific link category …
(Links filtered by category)
Links – Additional Options
If you plan to add a lot of links to your site, or if you want to add a page containing a list of links 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 Link Management Plugin)
Plugin Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/link-library/
Plugin Description
Link Library allows you to output a list of your link categories with a complete list of links together 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, and 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 for your links so that your site users can become aware of additions to your link library.
Visit this website to learn more about using this powerful plugin:
Congratulations! Now you know how to how to add and manage links to other websites in your WordPress sidebar menu.
We have written a detailed article about how to add HTML links in WordPress posts. Go here to learn more about this:
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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)