How to Optimize Author Lists on Your WordPress Site (2 Comprehensive Methods)

Showcasing the talented authors on your WordPress site through an author list can be invaluable. It allows readers to easily connect with writers they love and discover new relevant content.

But optimizing these author lists takes some work. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore how to showcase your authors properly to boost engagement and loyalty.

After 15+ years as a WordPress expert, I‘ve learned how to make author lists as useful as possible for both readers and writers. So let‘s dive in!

Why Author Lists Matter

Before showing you how to create great author lists in WordPress, it‘s important to understand why they matter:

• Helps readers find relevant content – If a reader loves your health articles by Dr. John, they can quickly locate more of his advice.

• Shows the experts behind content – Putting faces and bios behind posts builds authority and trust.

• Boosts engagement – Users are more likely to share/comment on posts they connect with the author of.

• Highlights your team – Give your hard-working writers recognition and exposure.

• Improves discovery – Articles written by the same author have related topics readers want.

According to Hubspot, articles with author information get 91% more shares on social media compared to unattributed posts.

Clearly, author lists should be part of your content strategy. Now let‘s see how to optimize them.

Method 1: Using a Dedicated Plugin

The easiest way to add an author list to WordPress is by using a plugin. This requires no coding knowledge.

My recommendation is the Author Avatars List/Block plugin due to its great features:

• Display author avatars, name, bio, social links, post count, etc.

• Automatically links avatars to author pages.

• Add lists via widget, Gutenberg block, or shortcode.

• Compatible with default WordPress avatars or custom images.

• Works with any WordPress theme.

To set it up:

1. Install and activate the plugin within your WordPress dashboard. Over 17,000 sites use it.

2. Add the "Author Avatars List" block to any post or page and configure the settings. For example:

   • Select user roles like Author, Editor, etc.

   • Display name, avatar, bio excerpt, and post count.

   • Set avatar size to 50px and round the shape.

   • Sort alphabetically by last name.

   • Require 10+ posts written to be listed.

3. Add the "Author Avatars" widget to your sidebar and customize as needed.

4. The live author list will automatically be shown on the frontend site!

Here is a preview:

Advantages of Using the Plugin

The Author Avatars List/Block plugin makes managing author lists easy since you can configure it all visually instead of needing to code it yourself.

Some key advantages:

• Works "out of the box" – No coding expertise needed. Just install and setup.

• Looks great – Automatically displays clean and consistent author avatars.

• Easy to use everywhere – Add via block, widget, shortcode, etc.

• Displays key author data – Not just names, but bios, post counts, and social links.

• Links to author pages – Helps readers discover more related articles.

• No bloat – Lightweight plugin with only what‘s needed.

• Actively maintained – Regular updates for the past 3 years.

For most users, the Author Avatars List/Block plugin is all you‘ll need to display great-looking author lists on your site.

Method 2: Adding Code to Your Theme

For full customization and flexibility, you can add code directly to your WordPress theme instead. This is a more advanced option suited for developers.

Here is a PHP code snippet you can add to author.php, index.php, or other templates in your theme:

<div class="author-list">

  <h2>Our Writers</h2>

  <?php 
    $authors = get_users(array(
      ‘who‘ => ‘authors‘,
      ‘has_published_posts‘ => true,
      ‘orderby‘ => ‘display_name‘, 
      ‘order‘ => ‘ASC‘
    ));

    foreach($authors as $author) {
      $author_posts_url = get_author_posts_url($author->ID);
  ?>

    <div class="author">
      <img src="<?php echo get_avatar_url($author->ID); ?>" />
      <h3><?php echo $author->display_name; ?></h3>

      <p>Posts: <?php echo count_user_posts($author->ID); ?></p>

      <p><a href="<?php echo $author_posts_url; ?>">See <?php echo $author->display_name; ?>‘s posts</a></p>
    </div>

  <?php } ?>

</div>

This will output a list of author avatars, names, post counts, and links to author pages.

To customize, you can:

• Add additional author meta like bios, social links, etc.

• Style the list via CSS.

• Change the ordering, filters, output, etc.

• Display author lists on any template using get_users().

The benefits of using code:

• Full control over author list design and functionality.

• Ability to tie into your theme‘s styling.

• Add custom data beyond standard fields.

• Flexibility to display lists on any template.

The downside is it requires stronger PHP, HTML, and CSS skills. For most users, the plugin method is recommended for ease of use. But developers may prefer code for creative freedom.

Key Optimization Tips

Now that you know how to display author lists using a plugin or code, here are some optimization best practices:

Include bio excerpts

Bios help readers learn about the author‘s background and expertise. Include short 2-3 line bios.

Link to author archives

Let readers easily find all posts by a writer. Link names/avatars to author pages.

Show social media profiles

Enables users to follow authors on other networks like Twitter and Instagram.

Use recent, consistent avatars

Display up-to-date headshots for a professional look. Use the same style.

Highlight your star writers

Give your best authors prominence at the top using filters like post count.

List authors dynamically

Automatically include new users. Don‘t hardcode so you have to update manually.

Consider multiple locations

Add authors in the sidebar, "About" page, by contributor posts, etc.

Monitor engagement

See which authors drive the most shares and comments. Feature them more.

Make visually scannable

Use clean designs, ample spacing, and visual icons to improve readability.

Driving User Engagement With Authors

Author lists are not just a nice-to-have. They are a powerful tool to boost user engagement on your site when optimized properly.

According to data from Social Media Today, content attributed to authors gets up to 70% more shares than unattributed posts.

By putting faces behind your brand, you humanize your site and forge reader connections – turning one-time visitors into loyal followers.

You have full control over how personalized your author pages and bio sections are. Use this to tell your writers‘ stories – not just as employees, but as human beings.

Readers will connect more with an author whose life experiences they relate to and will be more likely to share that content within their own networks.

So leverage your author lists strategically. Curate them carefully based on who resonates most with your audience and which writers deserve more exposure.

Rotate different authors into top homepage spots. And monitor engagement analytics to double down on what‘s working.

Going Beyond Just Names: Advanced Author Data

Another way to optimize your author lists is to go beyond just displaying names and avatars.

Some additional author metadata you can showcase:

Job Title/Role: This adds credibility to author names so readers understand their expertise. For example, "Katie Rodriguez, Chief Medical Officer".

Biography: As mentioned, bios help readers connect on a deeper level with authors.

Social media profiles: Let users follow authors on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram to stay engaged beyond your site.

Contact info: Providing author email addresses or contact forms allows readers to ask questions or provide feedback.

Personal website/blog: Share links to author‘s professional websites or personal blogs to drive traffic.

Latest content: Showcase teasers or links to an author‘s most recent articles to enable discovery.

Awards: For impressive team members, call out achievements like "2x Award Winning Journalist".

With the plugin, you can enable fields like bio, social media, post count, etc. For maximum flexibility, custom fields can be added using code.

I recommend starting with the basics, then layering in additional data that highlights your authors‘ expertise and humanity.

Technical SEO Considerations

Beyond engaging readers, author lists also provide technical SEO benefits for WordPress sites.

Properly optimized author pages can rank for certain keyword niches, driving more organic traffic to your site.

For example, an author page for "Katie Smith" about crafts could start ranking for searches like:

• katie smith crafts
• katie smith diy
• katie smith cricut

This exposes new users to your brand.

From an optimization standpoint:

• Have author pages use this naming structure: yourdomain.com/author/name

• Include the author‘s full name in page title tags and content.

• Make sure author pages are indexable by crawlers using meta and XML sitemaps.

• Interlink between author pages and related posts.

Having content broken out by niche authors allows you to target more specific long-tail keywords visitors are searching for.

So leverage your author pages properly from both user engagement and SEO perspectives.

Enhancing Site Accessibility

Another benefit of proper author attribution is it improves the accessibility of your content.

Screen reader technology used by visually impaired visitors relies heavily on text content. By including author names and bios, you provide more context.

Strategies like:

• Placing the author name as the first element of a post.

• Using HTML tags like <h3> around author names.

• Adding label elements like "Post written by…"

• Including rich biographical data.

All help visually impaired users better understand who created a piece of content and that person‘s qualifications.

Accessibility is also important for SEO, legal compliance, and overall user experience. So author optimization checks many boxes.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Displaying an optimized author list is crucial for engagement and readership on WordPress sites, especially those with multiple contributors.

In this guide, you learned:

• Two ways to add author lists – using a dedicated plugin vs code.

• How to showcase author names, avatars, bios, and other data.

• Where to place your lists – in posts, sidebars, author pages, etc.

• How proper author attribution increases shares and engagement.

• Technical considerations like accessibility and SEO.

To recap, prioritize author lists that are visually scannable, link to author archives, and use recent consistent headshots. Strategically highlight your top writers.

Next, start experimenting with author content on your own site! See which team members resonate most with your readers.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Writing for an engaged audience is deeply rewarding.