WordPress puts every author archive under /author/, so a writer's page lives at example.com/author/jane-doe/. That fits a blog. It fits a law firm or a clinic less well, where visitors look for attorneys or doctors. Law firm web design often uses /attorneys/ instead, which matches how clients search.
Change Author Base is a free plugin we built at Rathly. It lets you change the author base in WordPress to any word you choose, such as team or attorneys. You don't edit theme files or PHP.
Author base, author slug and author name
Three different settings shape how an author appears in WordPress. Each needs a different tool to change.
| Setting | Example | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Author base | /author/ in /author/jane-doe/ | This plugin, on the Permalinks screen |
| Author slug | jane-doe in /author/jane-doe/ | Built from the username, so it needs a slug plugin or code |
| Author name | Jane Doe under a post title | Display name publicly as, on the user's profile |
WordPress documentation notes that the username often appears in author archive URLs. Change Author Base changes only the shared base, not each user's slug.
Features
Each feature below matches the plugin's version 1.0.3 code.
- Custom base. Replace author with one word for every author archive on the site.
- Permalinks screen. The setting sits with the other URL options under Settings, then Permalinks.
- Clean slugs. The plugin turns your entry into a safe URL slug, in lowercase with hyphens.
- Example URL. Below the field, an example shows how saved author URLs will look.
- Rewrite rules. Saving the setting refreshes WordPress rewrite rules, so new URLs work at once.
- Safe uninstall. Deactivating keeps your setting, and uninstalling removes it completely.
The plugin saves a new base only for users with the Administrator role, which holds the manage options capability. On multisite, each site keeps its own setting.
Setup and requirements
It runs on WordPress 6.0 and later with PHP 7.4 and later. Its WordPress.org page shows testing up to version 7.0.7.
- In the WordPress dashboard, search the plugin directory for Change Author Base.
- Add it to the site and activate it from the same screen.
- Open Settings, then Permalinks, and find the Author Base field.
- Enter your new base, such as team or attorneys, and save.
- Open one author archive and check the new URL works.
Activation switches author URLs to the plugin's default base, about-us, until you save your own. Set the base right after you activate, especially on a live site.
Pick an author base
Pick a short word that matches how visitors think about your people. Here are options by type of website.
| Website type | Base ideas | Example URL |
|---|---|---|
| Law firm | attorneys, lawyers | /attorneys/jane-smith/ |
| Dental practice | dentists, providers | /dentists/dr-lee/ |
| Agency | team, experts | /team/maria-gomez/ |
| Publisher | writers, contributors | /writers/sam-park/ |
Don't use a base that already belongs to a page, category or custom post type. If the site has a page at /team/, choose another word such as team-members.
Redirect old author URLs
The plugin doesn't redirect the old /author/ URLs. If those pages already get visits, links or Google traffic, add 301 redirects from the old base to the new one. Using a redirect plugin or server rules handles it. Our technical SEO work points each old author URL straight to its new page.
Before changing the base on a live site, check these places for old author links.
- Search Console. Clicks and impressions for author archive pages.
- Internal links. Menus, bylines and posts that point to old author URLs.
- Sitemaps. Author sitemap settings and entries in your SEO plugin.
- Structured data. Author URLs in schema markup from your theme or SEO plugin.
If some author archives should disappear for good, our 410 Response Manager plugin can return a 410 for them.
How to change the author of a post
Many people searching this topic want to change who wrote their articles, not the URL. To change the author of a post, you need nothing extra.
- One post. In the block editor, find Author in the post settings sidebar and pick another user.
- Multiple posts. On the Posts screen in the dashboard, select posts, apply Edit under Bulk actions and set an author.
- The shown name. On a user's profile, use Display name publicly as to set the name posts show.
To hide author names, a block theme lets you remove the author block from post templates in the Site Editor. Classic themes often offer a setting for it instead.
Troubleshooting
If a new author URL shows a 404, open Settings, then Permalinks, and click Save Changes to refresh the rewrite rules. If the base saves and then changes back, check for permalink or security plugins and theme code that also edit rewrite rules.
The code is on GitHub, and questions go to the support forum on the plugin's WordPress.org page. For author pages with bios, photos, credentials and contact information, pair it with our author avatar plugin. Our WordPress development team can also build the full layout.