How to Change Author URL Slug and Base in WordPress

When we first started using WordPress, we were always bothered by the default author URLs. They looked clunky and unprofessional, which we knew wasn’t great for our branding or SEO.

After building hundreds of sites, we’ve learned that customizing these URLs is a small change with a big impact. It instantly makes a multi-author blog feel more polished and organized.

In this guide, we’ll show you the simple, code-free way to change the author URL slug and base. You’ll be able to create cleaner, more professional links in just a few steps.

What Is a URL Slug and URL Base?

WordPress offers an SEO-friendly URL structure known as pretty permalinks. To use this feature, you’ll need to make sure it’s enabled by going to Settings » Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard and selecting any option other than ‘Plain.’

Once enabled, pretty permalinks allow you to create clean, readable URLs for your posts, pages, and categories by editing their slugs. For example, instead of using URLs with numbers like ‘/?p=123’, you can have URLs that include the post name.

This feature also creates pretty links for author pages. However, there is no option for you to customize the author URL.

In WordPress terminology, a slug is the title of a publicly viewable page in WordPress formatted to be used in URLs. It looks like this:

https://example.com/author/syed-balkhi/

In the example above, syed-balkhi is the slug, and /author/ is the base.

While users can change the slug and base for posts, pages, categories, and tags, it’s not possible to change the author URL in WordPress by default.

If you’d prefer to use ‘contributor’ instead of ‘author’ or want to change a certain author’s slug, then you are in the right place.

Let’s take a look at how you can easily change the author URL slug and base in WordPress:

1. Changing the Author Slug in WordPress
2. Changing the Author Base in WordPress
3. Setting Up Redirects for SEO Purposes
4. Frequently Asked Questions About Changing Author URLs
5. Additional Resources on WordPress Permalinks URLs

Changing the Author Slug in WordPress

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Edit Author Slug plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, this plugin will add a group of options to each user profile page.

If you want to edit the slug of a user on your site, then you need to go to the Users » All Users page in the WordPress dashboard. Next, click on the ‘Edit’ link below a username.

This will take you to the Edit User screen.

Simply scroll down to the ‘Edit Author Slug’ section, and you will see a number of choices that you can use as the author slug. You can even enter a custom slug.

Once you have made the changes, click the ‘Update User’ button and preview your WordPress website.

Now, when you click on the author name in a post to view the author page, you will see that it is using the author slug you choose for them.

Changing the Author Base in WordPress

If you are building a site where you want to change the author base from /author/ to something else, then you can do that with this plugin as well.

Simply head over to the Settings » Edit Author Slug page. Here, you will see an option to change the author base and even choose different bases for different user roles.

Once you are finished, just click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings. You can now preview your site and click on the author link to see the changes in action.

Setting Up Redirects for SEO Purposes

When you change author URLs on an established website, you need to handle the change carefully to protect your SEO. Search engines have already indexed your existing author pages, and other websites might be linking to your current author URLs.

Your internal links and sitemaps also reference these old URLs, so any changes could lead to visitors encountering 404 errors when they try to access your content.

This is why setting up proper redirects, as we’ll show you below, is essential. Redirects ensure that both search engines and visitors are automatically sent from the old URLs to the new ones, preserving your search rankings and user experience.

First, you need to install and activate the Redirection plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to the Tools » Redirection page. You will be greeted by the plugin’s setup wizard. You can follow the on-screen instructions to continue set up or click on the ‘Manual Install’ link to skip it.

Next, you will reach the Redirection page. From here, scroll down to the ‘Add new redirection’ section.

You need to add the old author page URL as the source and the new author URL page as the target.

Don’t forget to click the ‘Add Redirect’ button to save your changes. The plugin will now automatically redirect visitors coming to the old author page to the new URL.

If you’ve changed the author base for your entire site (for example, from /author/ to /contributor/), then you’ll want to create a rule that forwards all those URLs at once. This saves you from having to redirect each author’s page one by one.

Let’s suppose you changed the author URL base to ‘contributor’. Here are the settings you would use to set up the new redirection:

• Source: /author/(.*)$
• Target: /contributor/$1

Next, click the gear icon next to the ‘Add Redirect’ button to show advanced options. Make sure to check the ‘Regex’ box to enable this type of redirect.

What Does This Code Mean?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a coding expert! Here’s a quick breakdown:

Together, they create a smart rule that redirects any author page to its new location.

Please note that this regex method is perfect if you are changing all authors to a single new base (like ‘contributor’). However, if you’ve set up different bases for different user roles, a single regex rule won’t work.

For complex situations like handling different bases for different user roles, we recommend using All in One SEO (AIOSEO) Pro. Its powerful Redirection Manager can handle these advanced redirects automatically, saving you from any headaches. 👍

It lets you easily set up full site redirects. Plus, you can enable automatic 404 error tracking to make sure you never have any broken links on your website.

To learn more about redirects, see our guide on how to set up redirects in WordPress.

Frequently Asked Questions About Changing Author URLs

Here are answers to some of the most common questions our readers ask about customizing author slugs and bases in WordPress.

1. Will changing the author URL hurt my SEO?

Changing your author URL won’t harm your SEO as long as you set up proper 301 redirects. Redirects guide search engines and visitors from the old URL to the new one, making sure you don’t lose traffic or search rankings.

2. What happens if I don’t set up redirects after changing author URLs?

If you don’t set up redirects, anyone trying to access the old author pages will see a 404 error page. This creates a poor user experience and can cause search engines to drop those pages from their index, negatively impacting your SEO.

3. Can I change the author slug without using a plugin?

By default, WordPress does not offer a built-in option to change the author slug or base. While it’s possible with custom code, it is complex and can break your site if not done correctly. Using a plugin is the safest and most reliable method for most users.

4. Does changing the author slug also change the user’s login username?

No, the author slug and the username are separate. The author slug is only used for the public-facing URL of the author’s archive page. The username is what the author uses to log in to the WordPress dashboard, and it remains unchanged.

Additional Resources on WordPress Permalinks URLs

We hope this article helped you change the author slug and base in WordPress. You may also want to see some other articles related to WordPress permalinks and URLs:

• What is a SEO Friendly URL Structure in WordPress
• How to Change the Category Base Prefix in WordPress
• How to Remove Numbers From WordPress URLs
• How to Remove v=XXXX String From WordPress URLs
• How to Remove the Date From WordPress URLs
• How to Create Custom Permalinks in WordPress (Ultimate Guide)
• How to Regenerate Your Permalinks in WordPress

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