Complete Guide to Add Multiple Authors for Posts in WordPress

Whether you’re running a news site, a collaborative blog, or a technical blog site, giving credit to all contributors is good practice. WordPress allows you to add one author per post by default, but adding multiple authors is not possible. How will you add multiple authors for posts in WordPress? The answer is simple: using plugins.

WordPress offers some specific plugins that will help you add multiple authors for posts. Some of the popular plugins you can use to do so are PublishPress Authors, Molongui Author Box, and Co-Authors Plus. In this blog, we’ll dive into each of them and learn how WordPress developers install and configure them.

Why Add Multiple Authors for Posts in WordPress?

Adding multiple authors to your WordPress posts can significantly enhance your content and website’s performance. Here’s a breakdown of the key advantages:

• Diverse Perspectives: Multiple authors bring unique viewpoints and expertise to the table, resulting in richer, more informative content.
• Increased Content Output: A larger pool of authors can produce more content consistently, keeping your audience engaged.
• Enhanced Credibility: Multiple authors with expertise can boost your website’s credibility and authority. However, they must be able to recognize an author through Google.
• Wider Audience Reach: Different writing styles and perspectives can attract a broader audience to your website.
• Efficient Workflow: Distributing authorship can streamline the content creation process, especially for large teams.
• Author Recognition: Giving credit where it’s due motivates authors and builds a stronger team.

You can create more engaging and informative content by allowing multiple authors for a post.

Best Plugins for Adding Multiple Authors

While WordPress doesn’t natively support multiple authors per post, several plugins offer this functionality. Here are some of the most popular options:

PublishPress Authors

It is a comprehensive solution for managing multiple authors on your WordPress site. PublishPress Authors goes beyond adding co-authors and dives into detailed author profiles and management.

Key Features:

• Advanced author management: Create, edit, and manage author profiles with bios, social links, and custom fields (Pro).
• Extensive customization: You can customize author boxes, author pages, and author list layouts extensively (Free and pro options).
• Seamless integration: Works seamlessly with other PublishPress plugins for a unified workflow (e.g., PublishPress Capabilities for user roles).
• Additional features: Create guest authors, assign author categories, and manage author archives (often in Pro versions).

Ideal for: Websites with a large team of authors, those seeking in-depth author profiles and customization.

Molongui Author Box

This plugin focuses on creating visually appealing author boxes that enhance your content and highlight your contributors.

Key Features:

• Author box focus: Packed with options to design stylish author boxes with logos, social links, and custom layouts.
• Guest author support: Add guest authors to your posts without creating user accounts.
• User-friendly interface: Easy setup and management of author boxes with a clear interface.
• Customization options: Customize colors, fonts, and layouts to fit your website’s design (Free and Pro options).

Ideal for: Websites that prioritize attractive author presentations and need basic co-author functionality.

Co-Authors Plus

It is a popular choice for its core functionality of assigning multiple authors to posts and its user-friendly interface.

Key Features:

• Simple co-author functionality: Efficiently assigns multiple authors to a post with a search-as-you-type input box.
• Guest authors included: Add guest authors to your content without creating accounts.
• Easy to use: Simple interface for adding and managing co-authors.
• Open source: Benefits from a large user base and active support forums.

Ideal for: Websites needing basic co-author functionality with a user-friendly setup. Suitable for those comfortable with open-source plugins.

Choosing a Plugin to Add Multiple Authors

Choosing the right plugin depends on your specific needs. Consider factors like:

• Number of Authors: Do you have a small team or a large contributor base?
• Customization: How important is customizing the author box design and user experience?
• Integration: Are you already using other WordPress plugins within an ecosystem?
• Budget: Some WordPress plugins offer free versions with basic features, while premium plugins offer advanced functionalities.

By choosing the best fit for your needs, you can effectively highlight multiple authors on posts in WordPress. To have author boxes customized that matches your site aesthetics you can consider hiring WordPress developers.

How to Add Multiple Authors (Co-Authors) for Posts in WordPress?

Adding multiple authors for posts in WordPress can be easily done using several plugins designed for this purpose. Below are detailed steps for using three popular plugins: PublishPress Authors, Molongui Author Box, and Co-Authors Plus.

Using PublishPress Authors Plugin

PublishPress Authors is a robust plugin designed to manage multiple authors efficiently on a WordPress site. It offers comprehensive features to enhance author profiles and streamline author management.

Step 1: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New.

Step 2: Search for “PublishPress Authors”.

Step 3: Install and activate the PublishPress Authors plugin from the WordPress repository.

Step 4: To create author profiles, navigate to Authors > Add New.

Step 5: To edit or add co-authors, go to the post where you want to make changes.

Step 6: In the post-editing screen, you’ll find an option to add authors. Search for and select the desired authors you want to add.

Step 7: If you want to customize the author display, use the plugin’s settings to show how authors are displayed on your site.

Step 8: Save or update the post.

Using the PublishPress Authors plugin can be beneficial for users who are already using its other products.

Using Molongui Author Box Plugin

It primarily focuses on creating visually appealing author boxes, but it also allows you to add multiple authors to a post.

Step 1: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New.

Step 2: Search for “Molongui Author Box”.

Step 3: Install and activate the Molongui Author Box plugin from the WordPress repository.

Step 4: Go to the post where you want to add co-authors.

Step 5: Find the author box settings within the post editor.

Step 6: Use the plugin’s interface to add multiple authors to the post.

Step 7: Customize author boxes using the plugin’s settings.

Step 8: Save or update the post.

If you prioritize the aesthetic appeal of author information, this plugin is worth considering.

Using Co-Authors Plus Plugin

This plugin is known for its user-friendliness, which allows you to easily add multiple authors to a WordPress post.

Step 1: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New.

Step 2: Install and activate the Co-Authors Plus plugin from the WordPress plugin directory.

Step 3: Go to the post where you want to add co-authors.

Step 4: You will find the Author section below the post content, here you will be able to add authors.

Step 5: Add the names of authors you want to use in your WordPress post.

Step 6: Now, search for add authors in the search box and select them from the dropdown option. Here, you can add multiple authors for posts in WordPress.

This method is simple to use and ideal for those who primarily need to assign multiple authors to a post without other management features.

Adding Multiple Authors for Posts in WordPress Manually

We have learned how you can add multiple authors for posts in WordPress using various plugins. But there is still one more way (advanced way) using which you can add multiple authors and i.e. by editing the function.php in theme file.

It is advised to have a back of your WordPress site before editing your WordPress file manually. Once done, let’s begin with the process of adding multiple authors in WordPress:

Step 1: Go to Theme File Editor in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: You will find the functions.php file code once you enter the theme editor.

Step 3: Once you find the function similar to the_author() or the_author_posts_link(), replace it with the following code:

if ( function_exists( 'coauthors_posts_links' ) ) {
    coauthors_posts_links();
}
else {
    the_author_posts_link();
}

Step 4: After that, we can create a multi-author blog using themes like OceanWP.

Step 5: Once you have this theme on you can go to its function.php you will find a function like the_author_posts_link. That have the code as below:

public static function the_author_posts_link( $link ) {
        // Add schema markup.
        $schema = oceanwp_get_schema_markup( 'author_link' );
        if ( $schema ) {
            $link = str_replace( 'rel="author"', 'rel="author" ' . $schema, $link );
        }
        // Return link.
        return $link; 
    }

Step 6: Now, to display multiple authors in WordPress, you can replace the above code with the below given:

public static function the_author_posts_link( $link ) {
        // Add schema markup.
        if ( function_exists( 'coauthors_posts_links' ) ) {
            coauthors_posts_links();
        } else {
            the_author_posts_link();
        }
        // Return link.
        return $link;
    }

Once you have replaced the code, scroll to the bottom of the screen, there you will find a “Update File button”. Click on it and the changes you made will be saved.

Now, you will be able to see multiple authors on your WordPress posts. This method needs understanding of coding skills, it’s recommended to use the plugin method, if you are not a tech person.

By following these steps and choosing the right plugin, you can add multiple authors to your WordPress posts and give credit where it’s due. If you want help building a blog site or other complex site, consider hiring WordPress development experts.

FAQs About Adding Multiple Authors for Posts in WordPress

Conclusion

Adding multiple authors to your WordPress posts is a powerful way to foster a collaborative environment. By utilizing plugins like PublishPress Authors, Molongui Author Box, and Co-Authors Plus, you can easily edit and add multiple authors.

These tools not only provide these features, they also let you customize the author display box. If you are someone seeking to customize their site or wanting to build one, hire WordPress developers.