Co-Authors Plus WordPress Plugin – Features, Setup & Review | WPWizzy

Most themes display the post author using the WordPress get_the_author() function, which only returns the primary registered user author and does not read Co-Authors Plus data. You need to replace these functions with Co-Authors Plus template tags like coauthors() or coauthors_posts_links() in your theme templates. If you cannot edit theme templates, check if your theme has a child theme or look for a Co-Authors Plus compatible theme.

Co-Authors Plus modifies the author query to include co-authored posts, but this relies on the author archive using standard WordPress author query parameters. If your theme uses a custom author archive template or a custom query, it may bypass the Co-Authors Plus modifications. Check your theme author.php template and ensure it is using the standard WordPress loop without custom post queries that exclude co-authored content.

The Co-Authors Plus author search box appears in the post editor sidebar as a meta box. If it is not visible, scroll down in the editor sidebar or check Screen Options in the top right corner of the classic editor to ensure the Authors box is enabled. In the block editor, the meta box should appear below the post content. If still missing, check for JavaScript errors in the browser console that might indicate a plugin conflict.

Co-Authors Plus provides template tags you add to your theme. Use coauthors_posts_links() to display linked author names separated by commas. Use coauthors() for plain text names. Use coauthors_firstnames() for first names only. Place these functions in your theme single.php or the relevant template file where the author name currently appears. Replace the existing get_the_author() call with the appropriate Co-Authors Plus function.

Yes. By default, Co-Authors Plus supports posts and pages. To enable it for custom post types, add your post type slug to the plugin settings. Go to Settings, then Co-Authors, and add the custom post type name to the list of supported post types. After saving, the co-author meta box will appear when editing that post type.

Co-Authors Plus creates functional author archive pages for all co-authors including guest authors. For SEO, each author gets their own archive that search engines can index. The main consideration is ensuring your SEO plugin recognises multiple authors for schema markup. Yoast SEO and Rank Math both have compatibility with Co-Authors Plus, though some configuration may be needed to output correct author schema for posts with multiple bylines.

A registered user is a WordPress account holder who can log in and edit posts. A guest author is a profile created by Co-Authors Plus that exists only for attribution purposes – the person does not have a WordPress login. Guest authors are useful for crediting external contributors, journalists, or anyone you want to byline without giving site access. Guest authors have their own author archive pages and can have a bio, avatar, and contact details.

Yes, both plugins have compatibility with Co-Authors Plus. Yoast SEO has built-in support for Co-Authors Plus author data in schema output. Rank Math also recognises Co-Authors Plus. You may need to verify that author schema is outputting correctly for co-authored posts by checking the structured data with Google Rich Results Test.

Yes. Co-Authors Plus supports the block editor. The co-author selection interface appears as a panel in the document sidebar when editing a post. You can search for and add multiple authors from this panel. The classic editor meta box is also still available for sites using the classic editor.