Table of contents

How to change the author of a single postHow to bulk change post authors in WordPressWhat to do if the new author isn’t showing upHow to display a different name—or credit a guestHow to show or hide the author name on your siteChanging the author for pages or custom post typesTroubleshooting common issuesGetting startedAdditional resources

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Need to give credit where it’s due? WordPress makes it easy to change the author of a post—whether you’re fixing a mistake, reassigning content, or publishing on behalf of someone else.

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How to change the author of a single post

You can change the post author directly in the editor as long as the new author is already a registered user.

Using the Block Editor (Gutenberg)

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Posts > All Posts.
Find the post you want to edit and click Edit.
In the right-hand sidebar, click to expand the Status & Visibility section.
Locate the Author dropdown and choose the user you want to assign.
Click the Update button in the top-right corner to save your changes.

If you don’t see the sidebar, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the editor.

Using the Classic Editor

Go to Posts > All Posts and click Edit under the post title.
At the top of the screen, click Screen Options and check the box for Author.
Scroll down to the Author box and select the new author from the dropdown.
Click Update to save your changes.

If you don’t see the sidebar, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the editor.

How to bulk change post authors in WordPress

When you need to reassign many posts at once, the built-in bulk editor is the fastest way to do it.

Go to Posts > All Posts
Use the checkboxes to select all the posts you want to update.
In the Bulk Actions dropdown, choose Edit, then click Apply.
In the bulk editor panel, use the Author dropdown to select a new author.
Click Update to save changes for all selected posts.

This method works well for reorganizing content after a site migration or staff change.

What to do if the new author isn’t showing up

If you don’t see the user you want in the Author dropdown, or the author box is missing, here’s what to check.

Verify user roles

Only users with the Author, Editor, or Administrator role will appear in the Author dropdown.

Contributors can write posts but not publish them, so they usually don’t show up
Subscribers are not allowed to create or be assigned content

Add a new user if needed

Go to Users > Add New
Fill out the username, email, and other details
Set the role to Author or higher
Click Add New User

Once added, the user will be available in the Author dropdown menu.

How to display a different name—or credit a guest

Sometimes you need more control over how the author name appears, especially for guest writers or pen names.

Change the display name of a user

Go to Users > All Users and click Edit under the user you want to modify.
Enter a new Nickname and set Display name publicly as to match.
Click Update Profile.

This changes the name shown on posts without affecting the user account.

Use a plugin for guest authors or multiple authors

If you’re publishing content from people who don’t have an account, or you need to credit more than one person:

Co-Authors Plus lets you assign guest authors and add multiple authors to a single post
PublishPress Authors adds visual author boxes and gives you more layout control for bylines

Both plugins are great for magazines, news sites, and contributor-heavy blogs.

How to show or hide the author name on your site

Once you’ve changed the author, you might want to update how it’s displayed (or remove it entirely). Some WordPress themes show the author name by default; others don’t.

You can manually edit your theme files (like single.php or content.php) using get_the_author() to control author display.
Or use a plugin like Simple Author Box to customize author bios and positioning.

Make sure to test on different devices and post types to ensure consistent display.

Changing the author for pages or custom post types

By default, WordPress pages and many custom post types don’t include the author field. To enable it, add this line to your theme’s functions.php file:

add_post_type_support( ‘page’, ‘author’ );

Now when you edit a page, you’ll see the Author dropdown in the sidebar.

You can do the same for custom post types by replacing ‘page’ with your CPT slug.

Troubleshooting common issues

Things don’t always go as planned. Here’s what you can do about it.

Fail: The author field doesn’t show up

In the Classic Editor, check Screen Options at the top of the screen and enable Author.
In the Block Editor, open the Post tab of the sidebar and look under Status & Visibility.

Fail: The new user doesn’t appear in the dropdown

Make sure the user is registered and has the right role.
If you recently added them, refresh the page to reload the user list.

Fail: The updated author name doesn’t show on the front end

Clear your site and browser cache.
Some themes hardcode author output—check your theme files or use a plugin to override.

Next steps for changing the author in WordPress

Changing the post author in WordPress is quick—but it’s also key to keeping your content clean, accurate, and well-managed. Whether you’re reassigning posts, crediting guest writers, or fixing old imports, WordPress gives you flexible tools to do it right.

For multi-author blogs or editorial teams, plugins like Co-Authors Plus or PublishPress Authors can save time and keep credits clear.

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