Author

In WordPress terms, an author is one of the different user roles. It’s a predefined role that has the ability to write, publish, edit, and delete articles they have created and to upload files. Authors can make changes to their own profiles and create and change their own passwords.

In many cases, however, WordPress site administrators classify site writers as contributors rather than authors. The role of contributor doesn’t have as much authority as an author does. Authors have the ability to edit and delete any post they create. By designating writers as contributors, which cannot delete articles, administrators don’t have to worry about individuals accidentally deleting anything or deleting all of their posts if they leave their job. A plugin can also be used to create a new customized user role.

Authors often have the chance to create their own author page that contains information such as their biography and links to their published articles. These pages are usually created using the author archive page. This page is built-in to WordPress and automatically generates a list of the posts the author has written. Other sites may include this information on the sidebar of each article along with a photo of the author.