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Free Plugin by Konstantin Obenland v6

WP Author Slug

Add a layer of security and prevent your login name from being shown in the author archive's URL.

WP Author Slug

The facts

Rating
4.8★ from 19
Active installs
2k+
Price
Free
Last updated
21 Aug 2026
Added
Feb 2011
Requires WP
3.0
Tested up to
WP 6.9.7
Downloads
38,886

Our analysis

AI-assisted

WP Author Slug is a WordPress plugin that replaces the author slug in URLs with a sanitized version of the user's display name. This helps create friendlier URLs by using the display name instead of the login name, although it does not prevent hackers from discovering the login name.

The plugin is suitable for users who want to enhance the appearance of author URLs on their site. However, it is not recommended for sites with more than 1000 registered users due to potential issues when updating multiple nicenames simultaneously.

Best for: This plugin is best for WordPress site owners looking to improve author URL appearance without exposing login names.

What it does well

  • Replaces author slug with a sanitized display name
  • Improves URL friendliness
  • Free to use from the WordPress.org directory
  • High rating of 4.8 out of 5 from users
  • Active installation count of 2,000

Where it falls short

  • Not suitable for sites with more than 1000 registered users
  • Does not prevent hackers from discovering login names

Verdict

WP Author Slug offers a straightforward solution for enhancing author URLs, but its limitations regarding user count should be considered.

From the developer

Konstantin Obenland's own description of WP Author Slug, lightly tidied.

This plugin replaces the author slug with a sanitized version of the user’s display name.

This plugin will not prevent hackers from finding out your login name but the login name won’t be visible
in the author archive’s URL, which works towards your friendly URLs with using your display name.

DO NOT use this on a site with more than 1000 registered users, as updating all of their nicenames at once might break your site.

Read the full description on the official page →

Tagged as

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