{"id":15156,"date":"2026-01-13T14:02:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=15156"},"modified":"2026-01-21T09:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:29:40","slug":"external-links","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/external-links\/","title":{"rendered":"Add External Links to the Left-Hand Navigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes you need a navigation item that points somewhere else instead of displaying a page on your site. The <strong>Page Links To<\/strong> plugin makes this possible by allowing a page to function as a redirect.<\/p>\n<p>Because the left-hand navigation is generated from your site\u2019s pages, you\u2019ll create a page and configure it to redirect to another destination. The page appears in the left navigation like any other page, but when clicked, it sends visitors to an external website or another location within your site. This approach allows you to include important resources in the navigation without duplicating content or maintaining information you don\u2019t own.<\/p>\n<p>You can use this technique for links to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>External websites (NIH, PubMed, or partner institutions)<\/li>\n<li>University-managed resources (HR systems, faculty or student resources)<\/li>\n<li>Partner organization pages<\/li>\n<li>Donation platforms<\/li>\n<li>Forms or password-protected content hosted elsewhere<\/li>\n<li>Content that belongs in multiple sections of your site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Link, Don\u2019t Copy Content<\/h2>\n<p>When the material you want to include is owned or maintained by another organization, always link to it rather than copying it into your own pages. For example, the Health Sciences site includes an Insurance link under the Students section that redirects to the official insurance resource. Linking ensures visitors always see the most accurate and up-to-date information and helps prevent copyright or content ownership issues.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>How To Add External Links to the Left Navigation<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Add a new page<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>From the dashboard, go to <strong>Pages \u2192 Add New<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give the page a Title<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Give the page a descriptive title \u2014 this becomes the link text in the left navigation (\u201cStudent Insurance,\u201d \u201cClinical Trials,\u201d etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Assign a parent page<\/strong>\n<ol>\n<li>In the <strong>Page Attributes<\/strong> panel, set the <strong>Parent<\/strong> to the section where you want the link to appear.<\/li>\n<li>Left navigation is based on page hierarchy, so this determines where your link appears.<\/li>\n<li>Learn more in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/\">Left Navigation<\/a> documentation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Add the redirect URL<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Scroll to the <strong>Page Links To panel<\/strong> at the bottom of the editor and <strong>enter the full URL<\/strong> for the destination.<\/li>\n<li>If you don\u2019t see this panel, the plugin may need to be activated (see below).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publish<\/strong> the page.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Test the Link<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Check the left navigation to confirm placement and test that the link redirects correctly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Activating the Page Links To Plugin<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Page Links To<\/strong> plugin is enabled by default on all SOM websites. If the Page Links To panel doesn&#8217;t appear in the editor, the plugin may have been deactivated.<\/p>\n<p>Only users with <strong>Administrator<\/strong> access can manage plugins. If you do not have this role, contact your site administrator and request that they activate the plugin. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/sharing-permissions\/\">site access and permissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Activate the Plugin<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>From the Dashboard, select <strong>Plugins<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Find <strong>Page Links To<\/strong> in the list of plugin.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Activate<\/strong> if it\u2019s not already active.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Edit or Delete an External Navigation Link<\/h2>\n<p>Although redirect links can appear in your site\u2019s navigation, you can\u2019t edit them directly from the front end. When someone clicks the link, the web system redirects immediately, so the <strong>Edit Page<\/strong> option isn\u2019t accessible.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Edit<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>In the Dashboard, go to <strong>Pages<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Locate the redirect page \u2014 these are marked with a link icon next to the title.<\/li>\n<li>Click the page title to edit.<\/li>\n<li>From here you can:\n<ul>\n<li>Change the redirect URL<\/li>\n<li>Change the page title (link text)<\/li>\n<li>Move it to a different section of your site (change the parent)<\/li>\n<li>Delete the page if it\u2019s no longer needed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Avoid Duplicating Content Across Sections<\/h2>\n<p>Some content naturally fits into multiple areas of your website. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Clinical Trials page might belong under Patient Care to recruit participants.<\/li>\n<li>The same content might also belong under Research to highlight current studies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Instead of duplicating the content, place it in one section, then create an external (redirect) link in the other section\u2019s left-hand navigation.\u00a0This ensures consistency and simplifies content management.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes you need a navigation item that points somewhere else instead of displaying a page on your site. The Page Links To plugin makes this possible by allowing a page to function as a redirect. Because the left-hand navigation is generated from your site\u2019s pages, you\u2019ll create a page and configure it to redirect to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/external-links\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Add External Links to the Left-Hand Navigation\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3206,"featured_media":0,"parent":15135,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-15156","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Add External Links to the Left-Hand Navigation - Web Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/external-links\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Add External Links to the Left-Hand Navigation - Web Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes you need a navigation item that points somewhere else instead of displaying a page on your site. 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