How To Create A Custom Author Page In WordPress Without Plugins

Most WordPress websites display author information in a very basic way: a small box at the end of a post, maybe a name, sometimes a short bio. But what if you want something more? A proper custom author page that feels like a mini-website inside your site — complete with profile, social links, recent posts, and even a unique design.

The good news: you don’t need heavy plugins to achieve this. With a bit of theme editing and smart use of WordPress templates, you can create a polished, fast-loading custom author page that truly stands out.

Why Bother With a Custom Author Page?

Better branding: Instead of a bland bio box, an author page can act like a portfolio.
SEO value: Search engines love author pages because they improve site structure and E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
User engagement: Visitors can explore more posts by the same writer, boosting time spent on your site.
Professional touch: Looks more credible when readers can see who’s behind the content.

Step 1: Understand How WordPress Handles Author Archives

By default, WordPress creates an author archive page for every user. For example:

yoursite.com/author/username/

This page uses your theme’s archive template (usually archive.php or author.php). The problem? Most themes don’t style this page well. It often looks plain, with just a list of posts.

To customize it, you can create a dedicated author.php template. WordPress will automatically use this file whenever an author archive is viewed.

Step 2: Create an `author.php` Template

Connect to your site files via FTP or File Manager.
Inside your active theme folder (child theme recommended), look for author.php.
- If it doesn’t exist, create one by copying archive.php and renaming it to author.php.
Now you have a file you can fully customize.

Inside this file, you’ll want to call author-specific data. Example:

<?php
// Get author object
$curauth = (isset($_GET['author_name'])) ? get_user_by('slug', $author_name) : get_userdata(intval($author));
?>

<h1><?php echo $curauth->display_name; ?></h1>
<p><?php echo $curauth->description; ?></p>

This pulls in the author’s name and bio.

Step 3: Add Author Profile Information

WordPress lets you add info in Users → Profile (Name, Bio, Website). You can fetch this in your template with functions like:

the_author_meta('description') – Displays the bio
the_author_meta('user_email') – Useful for Gravatar images
the_author_meta('user_url') – Personal website

If you want social media links, you can either:

Use the built-in “Website” field and repurpose it.
Or add extra fields using a few lines of custom code in functions.php.

Step 4: Display Author’s Posts in Style

Most author pages just list posts. You can make it look better:

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
   <div class="author-post">
      <h2><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h2>
      <p><?php the_excerpt(); ?></p>
   </div>
<?php endwhile; endif; ?>

This creates a clean list with titles and excerpts. You can style it further with CSS to match your site’s branding.

Step 5: Add an Author Photo

By default, WordPress uses Gravatar linked to the author’s email. To show it:

<?php echo get_avatar( get_the_author_meta('ID'), 120 ); ?>

This displays a nice round profile image. If you want local image uploads instead, you’ll need custom fields, but Gravatar works fine for most cases.

Step 6: Polish With CSS

A little styling goes a long way. For example:

.author-profile {
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
   margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.author-profile img {
   border-radius: 50%;
   margin-right: 20px;
}
.author-profile h1 {
   font-size: 28px;
   margin: 0;
}

This gives your author page a modern card-like look.

Bonus Ideas to Make It Truly Unique

Add a “Top Posts by This Author” section.
Display social media icons (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram).
Include a contact form (via shortcodes).
Add author-specific banner or background image.
Use custom fields to highlight expertise or favorite topics.

External Resources

If you’d like to dive deeper, here are a couple of excellent references:

WordPress Template Hierarchy – Learn how templates work.
get_author_meta() Reference – Full list of author meta fields.

A properly built custom author page can instantly elevate your site, give credibility to your writers, and create a richer user experience. And the best part? You don’t need another plugin slowing down your site — just smart use of WordPress’s built-in system.