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How to Change the Author of a Post in WordPress

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Do you want to change the author of a post in WordPress?

Sometimes, you may need to change a post to a different author than the user who first uploaded it. You can do this without copying and pasting the post using a different account.

In this article, we will show you how to easily change the author of a post in WordPress with just a few clicks.

How to Change the Author of a Post in WordPress

What to Do Before You Change the Author of a WordPress Post

If you just want to show your name on a post written by another user on your WordPress blog, then you are ready to follow the instructions in this article.

However, if you want to show a different user as the author, then you first need to make sure this user exists on your WordPress website.

For detailed instructions, you may want to see our beginner’s guide on how to add new users and authors in WordPress.

You can view and manage all the users on your WordPress site by visiting the Users menu item while logged in with your WordPress administrator account.

View and Manage All the Users on Your WordPress Site

If you only want to change the way your name is displayed, then you can check out our guide on how to add or change your full name in WordPress.

Having said that, let’s look at how to quickly and easily change the author of a post in WordPress. There are a few ways to do this, so you can use the links below to jump to the method you want to use:

Method 1: How to Change the Author in the Block Editor

If you are using the Gutenberg block editor, then this method is for you.

First, you need to open up the post or page where you want to change the author’s name.

Once you are there, you must make sure that the ‘Post’ tab is selected in the right-hand sidebar. Next, find the ‘Author’ option in the ‘Summary’ section, where you will see a list of available authors to choose from.

From here, simply select the new author name from the dropdown menu.

Change the author in WordPress

Once you’ve done that, don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to save your changes.

Method 2: How to Change the Author in the Classic Editor

If you are using the old classic WordPress editor, then you can use this method.

First, you have to open the post or page where you want to change the author’s name.

Once you are there, you may not see the author panel on the page because the screen element hasn’t been added to your classic editor yet.

To add the author’s panel, click on the Screen Options button in the top right corner of the screen. This will show you a menu with several options that you can choose to show or hide on your post-edit screen.

From here, go ahead and click on the checkbox next to the ‘Author’ option.

Click the Checkbox Next to Author

The author panel should now be visible on the screen under the visual editor.

From here, you can change the author’s name by opening up the dropdown menu under the ‘Author’ option.

Change author in block editor

Once you have chosen a new author, make sure you click the ‘Update’ or ‘Save Draft’ button to save your changes.

Method 3: How to Change the Author Using Quick Edit

If you want to change the WordPress post author quickly, then this method is for you.

First, you must visit the Posts » All Posts page from the WordPress dashboard.

From here, hover your mouse over the post you wish to change and then click the ‘Quick Edit’ link under it.

Visit Post page

This will open up the Quick Edit tab on the screen.

From here, click on the current author’s name and select a new author from the dropdown menu.

After that, don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ button to save your changes.

Change the author using quick edit

Method 4: How to Change the Author of Multiple WordPress Posts

If you want to change the author of multiple posts simultaneously, then this method is for you.

To bulk update authors, you should first navigate to the Posts » All Posts page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

By default, WordPress shows 20 posts per page. If you want to display more posts, then you need to click on Screen Options and change the number of posts you want to display.

Show 40 Posts Per Page in WordPress

Next, you need to select the posts where you want to change the author.

After that, select the ‘Edit’ option from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu and then click the ‘Apply’ button.

Choose the Bulk Edit option

WordPress will now show you the Bulk Edit meta box.

From here, simply select the new author by clicking on the dropdown menu next to the ‘Author’ option.

Change the author in Bulk Edit

Once you are done, don’t forget to click on the ‘Update’ button to save your changes.

Bonus: How to Optimize Your Author Profiles for SEO

Finally, you may want to optimize your author profile pages to improve your SEO rankings.

The author profile appears at the bottom of blog posts published under your name.

Author info box plugin preview

Here, you can add a brief bio, links, and even your social media profiles.

By showcasing your author bio, you can build more credibility and give your readers a chance to learn more about you and the authors on your site.

WordPress allows you to add a brief author bio, but to add social media links, you will need to use the All in One SEO plugin.

Aside from that, you can also use AIOSEO to optimize author pages, as it is the best SEO plugin for WordPress, used by over 3 million websites.

All in One SEO website

First, you need to install and activate the AIOSEO plugin. For more detailed instructions, you may want to see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, simply navigate to the Users » Profile page from the WordPress admin sidebar. If you are not the administrator on the site, then you need to click the ‘Profile’ menu tab in the admin sidebar.

Once you are there, just switch to the ‘Social Profiles’ tab from the top of the page.

From here, you can now add links to your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles and create an author bio.

Add social profiles

Once you have made the necessary changes, make sure you click the ‘Update Profile’ button to store your settings.

Users will now see your new author bio at the bottom of any post you publish or change to your name.

We hope this article helped you learn how to change the author of a post in WordPress. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide on how to choose the best domain registrar and our expert list of the best WordPress plugins to grow your site.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

52 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
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  2. Edith says

    Great, now how do I get rid of it completely? I don’t want that stupid avatar and description at the bottom of any of my posts.

  3. Michael Butler says

    Thank you!!! Geez, “Screen options” is so unintuitive. Guess I should have tried clicking everywhere. the quick Edit method is a good tip, too.

  4. Tim says

    Only gives option to assign a post to an admin user, not to a subscriber or other standard user.
    Any options you know of to change this?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      For a temporary workaround, you can change the user to an author role, assign the post as theirs, then change the user’s role back.

      Admin

  5. Maria Amparo says

    Thank you so much!! I was going crazy trying to figure out in a deadline rush how to change the author on a blog post. Your instructions were perfect – clear and easy to follow. Again, thank you!

  6. Alaba says

    Hi,
    I also updated the author’s name a couple of years ago. Do I need to change URL slug? Or can I leave it as it is?
    PS: I did this almost 3 years ago.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      It would depend on what was changed with the author’s name but from that long ago it would not matter.

      Admin

    • WPBeginner Support says

      That would require a plugin or other method, we’ll look into the ability for when we update this post or a future post.

      Admin

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You would want to check under your post content and if it is not there you would want to check with the support for the plugin you are using to edit content.

      Admin

  7. Sven says

    Hello,

    at my blog in the post on top is the name of the author.
    is it possible the output the name from the editor who published the post and the timestamp ? is there a special function ?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You would need some custom coding to add the individual who published the post as well as the author.

      Admin

  8. Richard Stephens says

    Hi,

    Had a situation recently where several blogs I wrote for an organisation had the author changed. I raised this. They claimed it occurred while they did some security upgrades following a hack and while they changed my credentials on WP.

    I have not seen anything to confirm this claim yet. Could it happen like they claim or do they have to follow this process?

    TIA

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Depending on how they handled the security problem there are many things that could happen. If they follow the steps in this article they should be able to set your author back.

      Admin

  9. Diane says

    This would be great information IF the quick edit in WordPress actually gave an option to change the author, even after adjusting the screen options. As it is, I had to completely disable the author button.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Unless you have a plugin that is hiding the option, your posts should still have the option to edit the author in the quick edit screen.

      Admin

  10. Brandon says

    Is this going to be updated for 5.0 as the ‘Screen Options’ drop down is not at the top of the edit page anymore…

    • WPBeginner Support says

      We will update this article as soon as we are able. For the time being, you can find the author as a dropdown under the Status & Visibility section

      Admin

  11. Noe says

    Thanks so much for this article! It may seem like something so simple, but I spent two days pulling my hair out trying to figure this out. Finally, I found this post and was able to fix the issue in 5 min. Thanks again!

  12. Lisa Lynn says

    This was great! Short, simple and in less than one minute I learned how to do a bulk change of author name. Thank you!

  13. James says

    What if I am the only ‘author’ on the page, but I want different author handles depending on the types of blog posts?

    In other words, is it not possible to switch between two of your OWN author names without making a separate email account for the new ‘moniker’?

    I’m on wordpress.com basic plan if that helps at all. :)

  14. Craig Watson says

    I am trying to do this with a custom post type but for some reason the only user I seen in the dropdown list in “Admin”.

    Do I need to enable something in the CPT or could this be a capability thing on the user role?

    Craig

  15. CC says

    My Dashboard does not look at all like this! Is it because you are using a premium version?

    Thanks!

  16. Sarah says

    Hi,

    I have a problem,

    I cannot, it seems, assign a specific author to a listing or post?

    All I see under ‘Author’ is a list of userid’s, some with usernames but showing only 10 authors so I cannot seem to select the author of choice?

    Would appreciate any ideas how to fix the problem.

    Many Thanks

    • May says

      I’m having the same problem. It’s limited to 10 authors and I’m looking to find the best way to fix the problem. Anyone have any idea?

      • Sarah says

        @may

        Hi,

        I would much prefer that WP actually worked rather than adding yet another plugin for a function that should be standard.

        Interesting that WPbeginner never responded.

        Thank you anyway ;-)

  17. alex says

    H! I have a role “editor”. And editor dont have capabilities to change author. How i can fix it?

  18. Nancy Teas-Crain says

    This was extremely helpful! The directions were so easy to follow. The illustrations were just right.

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