Assign Staff as Author for Total
Assign staff members as the "author" for any page or post to be displayed in the post meta or author bio.
Use with caution
Assign Staff as Author for Total works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 3 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (20+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Assign Staff as Author for… stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| custom author | >100 |
| staff post type | #24 |
| total theme | #45 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Assign Staff as Author for Total
From the official readme · v2.1.2Description
Adds a new field to the post edit screen for all public post types so you can select a “Staff Member” (a post from the staff custom post type) as the “author” of the article to be displayed on the front-end. This will not actually change the author of the post itself but simply change the name displayed on the front-end in the author bio and post meta sections.
Note: This plugin is intended to be used with the Total Theme for WordPress and the Total Theme Core plugin which registers the Staff post type. If you are using it with a different theme that has a built-in staff post type or a different theme using a custom post types plugin to register the staff members, it may or may not work depending how the theme is coded. This plugin hooks into the author_link, the_author and get_the_author_description to make it’s changes.
Installation
- Upload ‘assign-staff-as-author-for-total’ to the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
- Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- You can now assign any post to a Staff Member so that they will appear as the author on the front-end
Changelog
- 2.1.2 =
- Fixed PHP warning caused by invalid handling of avatar
extra_attrvalues.
2.1.1
- Updated the tested up to version.
2.1
- Updated the admin column which displays the staff author so you can click it to filter posts by that staff member.
- Updated the tested up to version.
2.0
- Added support for assigning staff members as authors via quick edit.
- Added bulk edit for easily assiging staff members as authors to multiple posts.
- Added new settings page under Settings > Staff as Authors with a couple useful settings.
- Added support for WPML.
- Updated the Tested up to version.
1.1
- Updated plugin to hook into pre_get_avatar which attempts to display the staff member featured image instead of the author avatar so it can display the correct avatar in theme card styles.
- Fixed display issues in Gutenberg editor.
- Updated the save mechanism.
1.0
- First official release
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Assign Staff as Author for To… alternatives
All custom author plugins →| Rank | Plugin | Active installs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Change Author
This plugin lets you assign non-authors as post author.
|
1K+ |
| 2 |
Custom Author Byline
Allows you to add an author name and link to the byline, other than the actual logged in…
|
500+ |
FAQ
Assign Staff as Author for Total: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 5, 2026
Is Assign Staff as Author for Total free?
Yes. Assign Staff as Author for Total is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Assign Staff as Author for Total safe to use in 2026?
Assign Staff as Author for Total works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 3 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Assign Staff as Author for Total?
Assign Staff as Author for Total is active on 20+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,715 times since it launched in March 2020. It was downloaded 70 times in the last 30 days.
Does Assign Staff as Author for Total work with WordPress 7.1?
Assign Staff as Author for Total is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.6, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Assign Staff as Author for Total need?
Assign Staff as Author for Total requires PHP 7.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Assign Staff as Author for Total last updated?
The latest version, 2.1.2, was released on July 16, 2026 (3 months ago).
Who makes Assign Staff as Author for Total?
Assign Staff as Author for Total is developed and maintained by WPExplorer.
What are the best alternatives to Assign Staff as Author for Total?
The most popular alternatives to Assign Staff as Author for Total are Change Author (1K+ installs) and Custom Author Byline (500+ installs).
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