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Edit Author Slug

By Brandon Allen

Site Structure & Navigation / Tags & Classification

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Edit Author Slug Review - In-Depth Analysis

Edit Author Slug allows admins to customize user permalinks by changing the author slug and base. Tailor your author URLs for better structure.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.74/10

User Rating

4.8/5 (based on 84+ reviews)

Active Installations

100,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin allows full control of your user permalinks, allowing you to change both the author base (the '/author/' portion of the author URLs), and the author slug (defaults to the username of the author). You can set the author base globally, or you can set it to be user-specific based on a user's role. You now have the power to craft the perfect URL structure for your Author pages.

WordPress default structure is http://example.com/author/username/. Edit Author Slug allows for http://example.com/ninja/master-ninja/. Using a role-based author base would allow for http://example.com/ida/master-splinter/ (for an Administrator Role), or http://example.com/koga/leonardo/ (for a Subscriber Role).

Development of this plugin takes place on GitHub. Pull requests are always welcome! Translations should be submitted to Translate WordPress.

Comparing to Alternatives

Edit Author Slug stands alone in its category with no close direct alternatives available, making it a unique choice for users needing this specific functionality.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Effectively hides admin usernames across the site.
Simple and straightforward to use.
Highly rated with a 4.8 average from 84 users.
No known security vulnerabilities as of the latest scan.
Works reliably for most users without complex setup.

Weaknesses

Incompatibility issues with RankMath plugin.
Custom role-based URLs may not work with some WordPress versions.
Limited support for advanced user role configurations.
No pro version or additional premium features available.

User Sentiment Analysis

With a strong majority of 95.2% five-star ratings, users generally express high satisfaction with Edit Author Slug, praising its simplicity and effectiveness. However, a small minority report compatibility issues.

Positive highlights

'Just works' - sunnyp81
'Very good' - phuctran28899
'Finally a way to hide my admin username from across the site, I love this plugin!' - angeljs
'Works' - Tibo
'Edit Author Slug' - Anonymous User 18507509

Common complaints

Not working properly with RankMath plugin, reverting to WP username after profile update.

Weaknesses

Compatibility issues with certain SEO plugins like RankMath.
Limited functionality with newer WordPress versions for custom role URLs.
No advanced customization options beyond basic slug editing.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users looking for a simple, effective way to change or hide author slugs without complex configurations or premium features.

Not ideal for

Users who rely heavily on SEO plugins like RankMath or need advanced role-based URL customization may find this plugin insufficient or incompatible.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full functionality to edit and hide author slugs, providing excellent value without any cost.

Final Verdict

Edit Author Slug is a highly rated and secure plugin that effectively meets the needs of users wanting to customize author slugs with minimal hassle. Its simplicity and lack of vulnerabilities make it a trustworthy choice for most WordPress sites.

However, users dependent on SEO plugins like RankMath or requiring advanced URL customization should consider potential compatibility issues. Despite this, the plugin's free offering provides strong value for those with straightforward needs.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Edit Author Slug plugin.

Author

Author Base

Author Slug

Screenshots

FAQ

On standard WordPress installs, it’s the final part of an author permalink.
e.g. – https://example.com/author/author-slug/

In relation to WordPress internals, the author slug is the same as the user_nicename field found in a WP_User object, or the users table in the database.