Perplexing Ways to Remove Author Name from WordPress Posts

For a multi-author WordPress blog, you may sometimes encounter the need to take out the author’s identity from a post. This might be due to a departing author or simply a change of display name. Here are different ways to remove the author from WordPress posts:

1. Theme Template Edit

The easiest way to remove the author from a post is accessing your WordPress theme’s template files to add some code to them.

Step 1: Creating a Child Theme

Before commencing any changes, it’s advisable to create a child theme to protect your site from breaking during theme upgrades. Create a folder and a style.css file within it. Insert the code below into the file:


/* Theme Name: My Child Theme Template: template-folder-name */


Step 2: Locating the Theme’s Files

Depending on your WordPress theme, your template files can be located in wp-content/themes/theme-name/ folder, with the single.php file being the primary one for displaying posts. If you’re unsure of which file to edit, look for one containing “single” in its name.

Step 3: Editing the file

To remove the author, add the code below at the end of the template file, then save and reload the post page:

2. Plugin Use

One can use a WordPress plugin if unfamiliar with template files editing. The Remove Author Archive plugin is an excellent option.

Step 1: Plugin Installation

Installing and activating the plugin is the first step, followed by configuring it to remove the author from your posts:

Step 2: Plugin Configuration

Select the correct post type to remove the author, choose to remove the author from display under options, save changes, and access your post pages.

3. CSS Method

For CSS-savvy individuals, applying a custom CSS code to their WordPress website is one of the ways to remove the author’s name.

Step 1: Identify the Author Element

Use the developer’s tools to identify the author element’s class or ID that usually appears in the byline or post meta area of your post.

Step 2: Add Custom CSS

Insert the following code below in the Additional CSS feature, replacing the author class with the identified class or ID:


.author {
display:none;
}


4. Plugin for Name Change

In case you want to remove the author name but still preserve credit awareness, the Nickname field for Users plugin can change the displayed name.

Step 1: Plugin Installation

Install and activate the Nickname field for Users plugin.

Step 2: Update the User Profile

Select the relevant author from ‘All Users,’ locate the nickname tab, and input the name to display in the post.

Conclusion

The article above has detailed different methods of removing the author’s name from WordPress posts. It’s necessary to back up your WordPress files before making any changes to avoid unexpected results.