WP Custom Author URL
Set a custom URL for your author name link, on a global or author-specific basis. Also redirects all author pages.
Solid choice
WP Custom Author URL is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 5K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 months ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where WP Custom Author URL stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| author | #10 |
| author url | #1 |
| banner | >100 |
| custom url | #7 |
| profile | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews
About WP Custom Author URL
From the official readme · v2.1.0Description
This plugin will allow you to choose a custom URL for your author links, instead of the standard WordPress author page.
This can be useful if you want to link to your own Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media profile.
There are two areas where this plugin can be configured:
Firstly, a global settings section is available under WordPress Settings. Second, under each users profile page.
A user can set their own custom URL on their profile page, and this will apply just to them.
This can can be overriden by the global admin setting, if the ‘Override Individual Authors’ setting is checked.
Custom author URL’s also redirect author pages when directly accessed.
For example if your user is called Bob, and you try to access https://yourblog.com/author/bob, it will redirect.
Installation
From your WordPress dashboard
- Visit ‘Plugins > Add New’
- Search for ‘WP Custom Author URL’
- Activate ‘WP Custom Author URL’ from your Plugins page.
- Visit ‘WP Custom Author URL Options’ in the ‘Plugins’ submenu to access the settings.
From WordPress.org
- Download ‘WP Custom Author URL’.
- Upload the ‘wp-custom-author-url’ directory to your ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory, using your favorite method (ftp, sftp, scp, etc…)
- Activate ‘WP Custom Author URL’ from your Plugins page.
- Visit ‘Custom Author URL’ in the ‘Settings’ menu to access the settings.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set it to open in a new tab?
Not at the moment, this will have to be configured via the theme until I find a reliable way of doing this.
Do you have any other useful plugins?
Yes, I have two other ( completely free ) plugins called WP Dev Flag & WP Custom Author URL, both on the WordPress Repository here: WP Dev Flag Woo Custom Empty Price
Changelog
Remove unnecessary public script enqueue calls.
2.1.0
- Localization to zh_TW and related fixes, Thanks to https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexclassroom/
2.0.2
- Remove unnecessary enqueue_scripts call in admin.
2.0.1
- Bug fixes.
2.0.0
- Full codebase rewrite. Remove code fluff, restructure code.
1.0.5
- Fix a minor vulnerability in the admin settings page, where a user could potentially insert unescaped HTML into the settings page.
1.0.4
- Fix a file structure error introduced by yours truly, causing plugin activation to break.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best WP Custom Author URL alternatives
All author plugins →
FAQ
WP Custom Author URL: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is WP Custom Author URL free?
Yes. WP Custom Author URL is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Custom Author URL safe to use in 2026?
WP Custom Author URL is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 5K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 months ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Custom Author URL?
WP Custom Author URL is active on 5K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 29,298 times since it launched in May 2019. It was downloaded 328 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Custom Author URL work with WordPress 7.1?
WP Custom Author URL is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does WP Custom Author URL need?
WP Custom Author URL requires PHP 5.6 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was WP Custom Author URL last updated?
The latest version, 2.1.0, was released on April 7, 2026 (6 months ago).
Who makes WP Custom Author URL?
WP Custom Author URL is developed and maintained by Poodle Plugins.
What are the best alternatives to WP Custom Author URL?
The most popular alternatives to WP Custom Author URL are Edit Author Slug (100K+ installs), WP Meta and Date Remover (90K+ installs) and Hide/Remove Metadata (20K+ installs).
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