Have you noticed boxes at the end of blog posts that have the Author’s image and a little blurb about them? That’s an author’s box. An author box is another easy way to give your blog a professional look. I really like it when a blog has an author box at the end of their post. I guess it helps me feel connected to the author a little bit more, which usually helps me relate to the post more too.
I was just reading a blog this morning and saw a nice author box for a guest author to the blog. I wanted to click on the author’s name to go visit their blog and realized that the author box was an image, not a functional box. Please, don’t do that for your author box. It is so easy to have a functional and attractive author box.
With most premium themes, all you have to do is click 2-3 buttons and write a little blurb about yourself. Your author box will most likely match the look of your theme. You don’t even have to insert an image, the author box uses your Gravatar.
I completed the tutorial below using a Genesis theme. If your theme is not set up for author boxes, you will need to use a plugin to accomplish the same thing. Simple Author Box and Fancier Author Box are great options.
Step 1:
On your WordPress dashboard go to Users and select the user you want to create and author box for. Scroll down until you reach the section About Yourself. Fill out the Biographical Info box; what you write here is what will show up in your author box. In order to leave links within the author box, you are going to have to input a little code on your own. Links are simple HTML. Here is the code:
And here is an example
It will show up like this in your author box: Read more about me!
A few things you might want to link to in your author box are: about page, social media, or any other posts you want your reader to know about. Keep it short, leave your whole story for the about page.
Step 2:
Once you’ve written the content, scroll down to the User Permissions sections. In this section you will find a the author box settings. Click the box to enable the author box on a user’s post. Your author box will now show up on your posts! 
What links do you include in your author box?
Thanks for the post! Going to add an author box right now!
Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for adding this post. A friend suggested I add author info to our blog posts, and I’ve been wondering the best way to go about it. Just followed your steps, and it was quick and easy to set up!
I finally added an author box. I had no idea that my theme (which seriously needs an update) did not even support an author box. So, I found a plug in. And then, I had no idea that I did not have a Gravatar. Thanks again to one of your posts, I added a Gravatar. And now, I am in business. I am almost embarrassed that I didn’t do this sooner. Now, I’m tired. Good night and thanks a million!
Glad you found an author box that works for you! And the gravatar looks great!
hey there! I could not locate the “user permissions” section. Does this mean my current theme does not include the author box option?
thanks 🙂
Yes, that means your theme doesn’t support an author box. You can try this tutorial Add an author box without plugin or search plugins for an author box you like.
Can you do this on blogger?
Not that I’m aware of. Sorry. 🙁
Um, seriously: what would I do without you?! I just set this up in 3 minutes and because I am using Dynamic Website Builder, I customized the box in less than 1 minute.
Love these tips, Kristie!!! Pinned and tweeted this little piece of awesome.
Your author box looks perfect!