A categorized directory of useful external links — partner societies, archives, online databases, vital-records sites. The "links" page every society has, made navigable.
What you can do
- Add external links with title, URL, description, category.
- Group by category (Bexar County / Texas / National / DNA / Cemeteries / etc.).
- Sort within category.
- Track when each link was last verified (encourages periodic cleanup).
- Public or members-only access (most are public).
- Bulk import from CSV.
How to add your first resource
SocietyPress → Resource Links → Add New. Title (e.g., "Texas Vital Records"), URL, optional description, category. Save.
Categories help visitors navigate — a 100-link list is daunting; a 100-link list grouped into 10 categories is browsable.
How to import a list
SocietyPress → Resource Links → Import Links. CSV with columns: title, url, description, category, sort_order. Upload, map, preview, import.
If you're moving from EasyNetSites, the ENS Links export format is recognized — drop in the CSV and the importer maps the columns automatically.
How to set up categories
SocietyPress → Resource Links → Categories. Add categories in the order you want them displayed. Common starter set:
- General Genealogy Resources
- [Your State] Resources
- [Your County] Resources
- National Archives & Databases
- DNA Testing & Analysis
- Cemeteries
- Newspapers & Obituaries
- Migration & Immigration
- Military Records
You can have as many or as few as makes sense. Empty categories are hidden from the public display.
How to put the directory on a page
Page builder: drop the "Resource Links" widget. Shortcode: [sp_resources].
The display groups by category, with each link's title (clickable) + description. Sort by category, then by sort_order within category.
If you want a single category on a single page (e.g., "DNA Resources" page), the shortcode accepts category="dna-resources" (using the category slug).
How to handle dead links
SocietyPress → Resource Links → Verify Links. Runs a batch check — visits each URL, marks broken links red. Doesn't auto-delete; you decide what to fix vs remove.
The "last verified" timestamp updates per check. Links not verified in 6+ months get a yellow warning badge in the admin.
If something looks wrong
Links not appearing in the public directory. Three reasons: (1) the link's status is inactive, (2) the link's category is empty / inactive, (3) members-only access on a page viewed by a non-member.
Categories displaying in wrong order. Edit the categories, set sort_order. Lower numbers appear first. Items with the same sort_order are alphabetized by name.
Imported CSV has extra/missing columns. During upload, the importer asks you to map each CSV column to a SocietyPress field. Skip columns you don't want.