Do you want to add an author bio box in your WordPress posts? The author bio box is a small section where you can display information about the blog’s author, show their social media profiles, and more.
Many WordPress themes allow you to easily display author bio using the default WordPress functionality. However, some themes may not have this feature built-in, or you may want to change how they display the author bio section.
In this article, we will show you multiple ways to easily show an author info box in WordPress posts. We will also show you how to customize author bio and make it more useful.
Why and When You Need an Author Info Box in WordPress
Seeing an actual person behind the content helps build credibility and strengthens your site’s authority among users.
For a single-author WordPress blog, you can just add an about me page, but for a multi-author WordPress sites, you’ll need to add an author info box below each post.
This helps your users learn more about individual authors on your website. It also provides authors an additional incentive to contribute more often and interact with readers.
If you want more users to submit content to your website, then the author info box is a great way to attracts writers who are looking for exposure and new audiences.
Having said that, let’s take a look at how to easily add an author info box in WordPress posts.
Adding Author Info Box in WordPress Posts
WordPress is the best website builder in the world because of the flexibility and customization options it offers.
There are many different author bio plugins that you can use to add an author info section. We will show you the default WordPress method, two different plugins as well as the code method. This way you can choose a method that works best for your site.
- Adding Author Box in WordPress using WordPress Themes
- Adding Author Box in WordPress using a Plugin
- Adding Author Box in WordPress Sidebar
- Adding Author Box in WordPress using Code Snippets
Method 1: Adding Author Bio Using Your WordPress Theme
If your WordPress theme comes with an author information box below each article, then you can simply use that to display your author bio.
In order to make use of it, you will simply need to visit Users » All Users page. From here you need to edit the user you want to change.
On the profile edit screen, scroll down to the ‘Biographical info’ section to add the author’s bio. You can also use HTML in this field to manually add links to the author’s social media profiles.
The author profile image is fetched using Gravatar. If the author has not set up a gravatar photo, then you can ask them to follow our guide for setting up a gravatar photo in WordPress.
Alternatively, you can also allow users on your website to upload a custom author profile photo by editing their profile.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Update user’ button to save your changes.
You can now visit any article on your website to see your WordPress theme display author bio box below the content.
Method 2. Adding Author Info Box in WordPress Using a Plugin
If your theme does not show an author info box, or you want to customize it, then this method is for you.
For this method, we’ll be using a WordPress plugin to add author info box to your WordPress posts.
First, thing you need to do is install and activate the Author Bio Box plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit Settings » Author Bio Box page to configure plugin settings.
From here, you can choose colors, gravatar size for the author photo, and location to display author bio box.
Once you are done, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save changes’ button to store your changes.
Next, you need to visit Users » All Users page and click on the ‘Edit’ link below the user you want to change.
On the profile edit screen, you need to scroll down to ‘Contact Info’ section. From here you can add links to the author’s social media profiles.
The plugin will only show icons for social networks where you enter a URL.
After that, you can scroll down to the ‘Biographical Info’ section to add the author’s bio. You can also use HTML in this field to manually add links or use basic HTML formatting options.
Once you are finished, click on the Update user button to save your changes.
You can now visit any article written by that user to see the author info box in action.
Method 3: Display Author Info in a Sidebar Widget
Do you want to show the author info in the sidebar instead of below the article? If yes, then this method is for you because it allows you to show author info box in a sidebar widget.
For this method, you’ll need to install and activate the Meks Smart Author Widget plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit Appearance » Widgets page. There you will find Meks Smart Author under the list of available widgets. You need to add this widget to the sidebar where you want to display the author information.
The widget comes with a number of options. The most important option that you need to check is the checkbox next to ‘Automatically detect author’ option.
Click on the Save button to store your widget settings. You can now visit your website to see the author’s information widget in action.
This plugin fetches user information from their WordPress profile. You or your authors will need to fill their biographical information by editing their profiles.
Method 4. Add Author Info Box Manually (Coding Required)
This method requires you to add code to your WordPress website. If you have not done this before, then please take a look at our guide on how to add code snippets in WordPress.
First, you need to add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.
function wpb_author_info_box( $content ) {
global $post;
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) ) {
// Get author's display name
$display_name = get_the_author_meta( 'display_name', $post->post_author );
// If display name is not available then use nickname as display name
if ( empty( $display_name ) )
$display_name = get_the_author_meta( 'nickname', $post->post_author );
// Get author's biographical information or description
$user_description = get_the_author_meta( 'user_description', $post->post_author );
// Get author's website URL
$user_website = get_the_author_meta('url', $post->post_author);
// Get link to the author archive page
$user_posts = get_author_posts_url( get_the_author_meta( 'ID' , $post->post_author));
if ( ! empty( $display_name ) )
$author_details = '<p class="author_name">About ' . $display_name . '</p>';
if ( ! empty( $user_description ) )
// Author avatar and bio
$author_details .= '<p class="author_details">' . get_avatar( get_the_author_meta('user_email') , 90 ) . nl2br( $user_description ). '</p>';
$author_details .= '<p class="author_links"><a href="'. $user_posts .'">View all posts by ' . $display_name . '</a>';
// Check if author has a website in their profile
if ( ! empty( $user_website ) ) {
// Display author website link
$author_details .= ' | <a href="' . $user_website .'" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Website</a></p>';
} else {
// if there is no author website then just close the paragraph
$author_details .= '</p>';
}
// Pass all this info to post content
$content = $content . '<footer class="author_bio_section" >' . $author_details . '</footer>';
}
return $content;
}
// Add our function to the post content filter
add_action( 'the_content', 'wpb_author_info_box' );
// Allow HTML in author bio section
remove_filter('pre_user_description', 'wp_filter_kses');
This code simply fetches the author information and displays it below WordPress posts. You need to style this author info box so that it looks nice and matches your WordPress theme.
You can add the following custom CSS to style your author box. Feel free to modify it to meet your needs
.author_bio_section{
background-color: #F5F5F5;
padding: 15px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
}
.author_name{
font-size:16px;
font-weight: bold;
}
.author_details img {
border: 1px solid #D8D8D8;
border-radius: 50%;
float: left;
margin: 0 10px 10px 0;
}
This is how the author info box looked on our demo site.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add an author info box to WordPress posts. You may also want to see our tips on how to increase your blog traffic, or our step by step guide on how to create an email newsletter.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Hello
Could you please tell me how to only display the author bio box for certain categories? Thank you
If you are using the widget method you can conditionally display the widget using the method from our guide here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-show-or-hide-widgets-on-specific-wordpress-pages/
Hi I used the plugin and now it’s showing two bios–the one generated by the plugin and the one created by WordPress (which looks uglier and I don’t want to use). How I avoid having two bios?.
If your theme included its own author bio, you would need to reach out to the theme’s support for how to remove it
Looks like the Guerrilla’s Author Box plugin is no longer available… Do you can you suggest any alternatives? thank you
While we don’t have a recommended plugin at the moment, we will certainly look to update this article with an alternative
Hi,
I have a problem with method #3
I added the php code to the functions.php file and the css to additonal css section in WP
Everything is working except that the bio is displaying twice on the page…
Once at the proper place at the bottom of the post, and it is also displaying at the top of the page (before header)
Any thoughts?
Is there anyway to disable to author box for profiles which don’t have any info in the author bio?
We use a custom field to add authorship to guest posts, and we don’t have a bio for most of our guests, and the blank box at the bottom of the page is z bit of an eyesore for these posts.
Thanks in advance for any help
Does this mean I have to give them user access????
This doesn’t make sense for me? THey’re random people?
Thanks
re: Each author on your site will need to add their biographical information and links to their user profiles. They can do this by logging in to their WordPress account on your website and then click on the Profile link from the WordPress admin menu.
Hi Elizabeth,
Random people should not have access to your WordPress site. Please see our beginner’s guide about WordPress user roles and permissions.
Hi to all!
How to add EDD vendor name in EDD receipt?
I add this to my downloads page by adding:
echo get_the_author_meta( ‘name_of_store’, $post->post_author );
and
echo get_the_author_meta( ‘display_name’, $post->post_author );
,
It seems in this case I need to hook this, BUT HOW?
thanks
Thanks for this which is what I was looking for. Although now I see it with the bio in 2 places, what I would like is that the bio at the end of each post different to the bio down the side.
Is this possible or do I have to remove Meks and replace it with some other plugin?
Thanks
Hey,
This was just what I was looking for. I think I will stick with installing a plug-in though.
Coding makes my head hurt.
Thanks for the great wordpress content!
Wilson
hahaha! I thought exactly the same thing while reading through the post. Why go through the stress of coding, when there’s a plugin to get the job done?
It’s great and so much helpful…
Hi, I was wondering how I can add a margin higher than my box using the code that you left us.
My box shows very close to the letters of my post, I hope your answer.
A big greeting.
very helpful thanks a lot
I have added the Guerrilla’s author box, but author details still don’t show on my posts. I can only see these three lines:
Author: Hina Ilyas
Filed Under: Weekly Rundown
Tags:
i don’t understand what is the issue!
If I use method 3, it only shows the author info box when viewing a post.
The post itself doesn´t show at all.
Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance.
Please how can I add the author box to specific categories only?
Pls help.
You may have found the answer for this already (it’s kind of disappointing someone makes this posts and doesn’t respond to the questions), but I used this to display the box on only certain categories.
If you want to display the author box only on single posts that are assigned to any category, change:
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) ) {
to
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) && has_category() ) {
If you want to display the box ONLY in a certain category, then change the above to:
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) && in_category(‘X’) ) {
Change “X” to the category ID.
To include more than one category, simply replay “X” with an array() of category IDs:
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) && in_category( array(‘X’, ‘X’) ) ) {
Hi andy can you help me, i-followed the method #3, how can i hide it to my wocommerce product page description here’s the site
i just solved it, i used this code of yours:
// Detect if it is a single post with a post author
if ( is_single() && isset( $post->post_author ) && has_category() ) {
thanks for this
Hi. I am facing a problem while adding hyperlink in the author bio. I tried add hyper link using anchor text at edumovlive.com but failed. Can anyone help me to get hyperlink in author bio.
Hi, i added custom admin column: thumbnail to all users table
, how can i print each user gravatar, by user id, inside this column?
I added sucessfully featured image column inside all post table,
that links each image to each post via edit link, is there a way to add gravatar column in all users that links to edit user?
How can I add links to my posts within the author box?
Thanks for the post, great help. Is it possible to make the author box interactive? Like the bottom of this page?
I would like something similar to the ‘as well as’ feature but I know nothing about CSS.
Nice Post ..
Thanks for Your Article,
I added author box using method 3 but it showing author box above sharing icons how to move this down near comment section??
Do I need add links to social media profiles to the author, any idea?
For method #3 which is really the simplest and the fastest (involves some php coding skills) I added a break tag on the line where it shows picture and text as follows. Because it looks odd when only the first line of the bio shows up next to the picture and the rest of the bio separately.
$author_details .= ” . get_avatar( get_the_author_meta(‘user_email’) , 90 ) . ” . nl2br( $user_description ). ”;
The hard coding worked perfectly with a little style tweaking, many thanks!
under the // Get author’s biographical information or description is the some kind of way to control the word or character count without having to edit the user bio itself? Maybe similar to controlling the excerpt length on a post page in functions?
I dont know how to add codes via my functions.php i might get an error. Any plugin to add codes into functions.php?
You have to add it after the closing php tag that looks like this ( ?> ) in you child theme’s functions.php file.
Hi. I have three sites. For some reason, my author box automatically shows up on one of them. I had to install the Guerilla plugin to get it to show up on the others.
Why would one site show it and not the other two???
Hey There, Great article. The video attached to the post is not for instructions on “how to install a plugin” as written above it.
It it is a mistake, please correct it
Hi there, having trouble with the picture for the author box. I’ve moved the author widget to the sidebar for it to appear and it has along with the text but scratching my head on what to do to get the picture to show up also. I’m using a WordPress theme. Thanks for all your help!
Heya… dealing with this today. Theme has a nice author box, but missing the socials at bottom.
Love your roll your own example, which we’re messing with “right now” — any chance you might expand on the example to include pulling in the “if socials” from the user meta, below the author’s website link ?
TIA ! Thanks for another great article
(12 year WP user — so not just for beginners! )
Did you ever figure this out Christopher? I’m having the same issue with my theme.
Hi, thanks for this! I’m having a lot of help from you guys! For this and other functions.
One question: How can I set the max lenght in the Author description. Also, can I use a custom text for the box description in the single page and a full description in the Author page?
Hi,
Thanks for your helpful information.
I have a problem, but I don’t know how to describe it. I added a picture into article, and set it style=”float: right; margin-left: 20px;”
It can show the web page well upon browsed on desktop computer, left hand side is content, and right hand side show picture.
but it cannot show the web page well upon browsed on mobile phone, please refer below URL:
Is it possible to show text first, and the picture under the text not around the picture?
If so, how?
Please try to help me out.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Hi guys,
Do you know a way of inserting the author’s widget next to the post entry, but not in a sidebar? just as here:
thanks!
You may want to add a widget area right next to the content.