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An author box is the small section under a post that says who wrote it, why they know what they are talking about, and where to find them. It takes five minutes to add and does more for reader trust than most design changes.

It also connects to how Google evaluates content. Its quality guidelines put weight on experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust (E-E-A-T), and a clear author with a real bio is one of the most visible trust signals on a page. This guide covers the best free author bio box plugins and what to actually write in the box.

Why An Author Box Matters

• Trust: readers want to know a real person with relevant experience wrote the advice.
• E-E-A-T signals: a named author, a bio and links to an author page and profiles make your expertise visible.
• Structured data: good plugins connect the author to Person schema, which helps search engines link your content to you.
• Engagement: social links and a “more from this author” link keep readers on your site.

Author Bio Box Plugins Compared

Plugin	Free	Multiple authors per post	Guest authors (no user account)	Best for
Simple Author Box	Yes	Pro	Pro	Single-author blogs
Molongui Authorship	Yes	Yes	Yes	Multi-author and guest posts
PublishPress Authors	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editorial teams
WP Post Author	Yes	No	No	Simple shortcode or widget use
Starbox	Yes	No	No	Tabbed boxes with latest posts

Check the “last updated” date on WordPress.org before installing any plugin. Author box plugins are small, and some get updated less often than others.

How I Picked These

I looked at how easy each plugin is to set up, design options, support for multiple and guest authors, whether it outputs clean markup, how much CSS it loads, and how recently it has been maintained.

Check Your Theme First

Several popular themes already include an author box:

• GeneratePress: author info can be added with a Block Element after the content (Premium), using dynamic author blocks.
• Kadence: has an author box option in the single post settings.
• Astra: includes an author info option for single posts.
• Block themes: the core “Author Biography”, “Avatar” and “Author Name” blocks can be added to your single post template in the Site Editor.

Using your theme’s built-in option means one less plugin. See the best WordPress themes for bloggers for more on each.

5 Best Free Author Bio Box Plugins

Simple Author Box

Best for: single-author blogs. Price: free, Pro available. Setup time: 5 minutes

Simple Author Box adds a responsive author box under your posts with a Gravatar or custom photo, bio, and icons for dozens of social networks.

The live preview in its settings makes styling easy. It is one of the most used author box plugins. Multiple authors, guest authors and extra templates require Pro.

Best features: live preview styling, 30+ social icons, custom avatar upload, AMP support.

Pros

• Very easy
• Looks good by default

Cons

• Guest authors need Pro

Molongui Authorship

Best for: multi-author blogs and guest posts. Price: free, Pro available. Setup time: 10 minutes

Molongui handles what most free plugins do not: guest authors without WordPress accounts and multiple co-authors on one post, both in the free version.

It also offers several box layouts, author archive pages and related posts by author. The settings screen has many options, which can feel like a lot for a single-author blog.

Best features: guest authors, co-authors, author pages, several box templates.

Pros

• Guest and co-authors are free
• Flexible layouts

Cons

• Many settings

PublishPress Authors

Best for: editorial teams. Price: free, Pro available. Setup time: 10 to 15 minutes

PublishPress Authors (formerly Multiple Authors) lets you assign several authors to a post, create guest authors, and customise author boxes and author pages.

It fits well if you already use other PublishPress tools for editorial workflows. It is more than a solo blogger needs.

Best features: multiple authors, guest authors, author box layouts, author fields.

Pros

• Built for teams

Cons

• Overkill for one author

WP Post Author

Best for: placing author info anywhere. Price: free, Pro available. Setup time: 5 minutes

WP Post Author shows the author’s avatar, name, role and bio after posts, and adds a shortcode, block and widget so you can place author info in a sidebar or on custom pages.

It also adds an author rating option. Design options are simpler than Simple Author Box.

Best features: shortcode, widget and block, author role display.

Pros

• Flexible placement

Cons

• Basic styling

Starbox

Best for: tabbed boxes with latest posts. Price: free, Pro available. Setup time: 5 minutes

Starbox shows a tabbed author box: one tab for the bio and one for the author’s latest posts. It includes several themes.

It can be a nice engagement boost. Check its update history before installing, and test it with your theme, since some of its designs look dated.

Best features: latest posts tab, several box themes.

Pros

• Latest posts tab

Cons

• Dated designs

What to Write in Your Author Bio (Template)

A bio that just says “John loves writing about tech” does nothing for trust. Use this structure in 3 or 4 sentences:

1. Who you are and your relevant experience: “Umapathy Sekar has been building WordPress sites since 2013.”
2. Proof: a credential, a job, or something you have done. “He works in IT incident management and holds Microsoft and CompTIA certifications.”
3. What you write about here: “On WPSBlog he tests WordPress themes, plugins and hosting.”
4. Where to find more: a link to your about page and one or two profiles.

How to Add an Author Box with Simple Author Box (Example)

1. Install and activate Simple Author Box from Plugins > Add New.
2. Go to Users > Profile. Add your bio in “Biographical Info”, upload a photo and add your social profile links.
3. Open Appearance > Simple Author Box. Choose where the box appears (after posts is standard) and adjust colours to match your theme.
4. Preview a post on desktop and mobile.
5. Check that your author name links to your author archive or about page.

Pick By Situation

• Solo blogger: your theme’s built-in box, or Simple Author Box.
• Guest posts: Molongui Authorship.
• Team with an editorial workflow: PublishPress Authors.
• Author info in a sidebar: WP Post Author.

An author box adds very little weight, but it still loads CSS. If you are watching every kilobyte, use your theme’s option and see how to improve WordPress speed. And if you are building a new blog, my guide to starting a blog for making money covers the rest of the trust pages you need.

FAQs Related to Best Author Bio Box Plugins

Final Verdict

That’s all about the list of best author bio box plugins.

Use your theme’s author box if it has one. If not, Simple Author Box is the easiest free plugin for a single author, and Molongui handles multi-author and guest posts best.

Then spend five minutes writing a bio with real experience in it. That bio does more for trust than any plugin feature.