Change the author archive URL base
Site administrators can use Custom author archive base under Settings → POM Tweaks → Content → Authors to change the path before an author's name. For example, /author/alex/ can become /writers/alex/. The author's account name and stored content ownership do not change.
Configure the path
- Enable Custom author archive base and select Save.
- Enter Author archive base, for example
writersorpeople/writers. Enter a path, not a full URL. Do not include a query, fragment, or relative path segments. - Select Save. Spaces are converted to hyphens when the path is applied. Leave the field empty to use the site's normal author base.
- Open Settings → Permalinks and select Save Changes once, without changing the site's permalink structure.
- Follow an author link on the public site and confirm the URL and archive contents.
Use a base that does not conflict with an existing page or another archive. Pretty permalinks must be enabled to display the custom path. WordPress's configured permalink front, such as /blog/, remains part of the author URL. On multisite, the configuration applies only to the current site.
Existing links and integrations
Old author URLs are not redirected automatically. Update internal links and configure redirects separately when existing external links need to keep working. Language, SEO, and archive plugins can filter the final URL or route; verify the public link in each language in use.
Author support by post type continues to control which content types can appear in author archives. Changing the URL does not reopen an archive that another setting disables.
Reverse or troubleshoot
To restore the normal path, disable Custom author archive base, save, and save Settings → Permalinks again. Refresh any page cache containing author links. The setting does not rename users or change their individual author slugs.
If a new URL returns 404, first refresh permalinks and check for a conflicting path. Compare with the module disabled, refreshing permalinks again. If the archive remains unavailable, review language routing and other archive restrictions.