Author Box

The Author Box Addon adds an author box to your posts automatically, before or after the content. You choose the post types, and you can turn the box on or off for a single post. The addon also adds two settings to every Author Box Widget: social media buttons and a list of recent posts. With automatic author boxes, each author adds their own social media usernames to their user profile.

For the Author Box Widget’s own settings, see the Author Box Widget documentation.

Requirements

Go to SiteOriginPremium Addons and activate Author Box. This also activates the Author Box Widget. To use the optional settings, activate the Social Media Buttons Widget and the Recent Posts Widget at PluginsSiteOrigin Widgets.

Global Usage

Use the global settings to add an author box to every post of the post types you choose. The box shows on the single post view only.

  1. Go to SiteOriginPremium Addons.
  2. Find the Author Box card and click Settings.
  3. Choose the Position.
  4. Check the post types in Enabled Post Types, for example Posts.
  5. Change the box in the Author Box Settings section.
  6. Click Save.

The Author Box Settings dialog with Position, Enabled Post Types and the Author Box Settings section

Position
Where the author box shows: Before Content or After Content. Default: After Content.

Enabled Post Types
The post types that get an author box. The list shows Pages, Posts and the custom post types that have an admin screen. Default: none. No author boxes show until you check a post type.

Author Box Settings
The Author Box Widget form. It includes the settings that the addon adds, described in Widget Level Settings. These settings apply to every automatic author box.

Page Settings

You can turn the author box on or off for a single post, page or custom post:

  1. Open the post in the editor.
  2. Scroll to the SiteOrigin Premium box below the content.
  3. Open the General tab.
  4. Check or uncheck Display Author Box.
  5. Update the post.

The checkbox is on for the post types in Enabled Post Types and off for the others.

The General tab of the SiteOrigin Premium meta box with Display Author Box and Display Related Posts checked

Author Social Media Profiles

In the global settings, the social media buttons link to each author’s own profiles. You set the start of each URL once, and each author adds their username.

  1. In Author Box Settings, check Add Social Media Buttons.
  2. In the Social Media Buttons section, add a network under Networks, for example LinkedIn.
  3. Check the network’s URL field. It holds the start of the profile URL, for example https://www.linkedin.com/. Change it if the profiles use a longer path, such as https://www.linkedin.com/in/. Don’t add a username.
  4. Click Save.

Each author then adds their usernames. The profile section shows only when Add Social Media Buttons is on in the global settings and at least one network is added under Networks.

  1. Go to UsersProfile. An administrator can also edit another user at UsersAll Users.
  2. Scroll to the SiteOrigin Author Bio Social Media section.
  3. Enter the username for each network, for example sarahmitchell.
  4. Click Update Profile.

The SiteOrigin Author Bio Social Media section of a user profile with LinkedIn and X usernames

The addon adds the username to the end of the URL. For example, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ and sarahmitchell link to https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmitchell. The section lists only the networks in the global settings. The author box shows a button only for the networks where the author has a username. If an author has no usernames, their author box shows no buttons.

Widget Level Settings

The addon adds these settings to the Settings section of every Author Box Widget, below Author Bio. This includes the Author Box Settings in the global settings, and the SiteOrigin Author Box Block.

Show Recent Posts By Author
Adds a Recent Posts list below the author bio. It shows when the Recent Posts Widget is active. Default: off.

Add Social Media Buttons
Adds social media buttons to the author box. It shows when the Social Media Buttons Widget is active. Default: off.

Recent Posts

This section shows when Show Recent Posts By Author is on. It has the settings of the Recent Posts Widget. For these settings, see the Recent Posts Widget documentation.

The list shows the posts that its Posts Query selects. It is not limited to the author of the post, so it can show posts by other authors.

The addon adds one design setting:

Container > Margin Top
The space between the author bio and the list. Default: 20px.

Social Media Buttons

This section shows when Add Social Media Buttons is on. It has the settings of the Social Media Buttons Widget, without the Title. For these settings, see the Social Media Buttons Widget documentation. With the Social Widgets Addon active, you can also add Custom Networks.

Premium social media buttons in the Author Box widget

Position
Where the buttons show in the author box: Above Author Avatar, Below Author Avatar, Above Author Name, Inline With Author Name, Above Author Bio or Below Author Bio. Default: Below Author Avatar. Each position also sets the Margin and the Align setting to suit it.

Margin
The space around the buttons: Top, Right, Bottom and Left. Default: 10px at the top.

The addon also changes some Social Media Buttons defaults: Button theme Wire, Padding Low, Align Center and Mobile Align Center.

In an Author Box Widget that you add to a page yourself, each button links to the network’s URL as you enter it. The links are the same for every author. In the global settings, the URL is the start of each author’s profile URL. See Author Social Media Profiles.