Using WordPress ‘author_link’ PHP filter

The author_link WordPress PHP filter allows you to modify the URL to the author’s page.

Usage

add_filter('author_link', 'modify_author_link', 10, 3);

function modify_author_link($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    // your custom code here
    return $link;
}

Parameters

$link (string): The URL to the author’s page.
$author_id (int): The author’s ID.
$author_nicename (string): The author’s nice name.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: author_link

Examples

Add a custom prefix to the author URL

This code adds a custom prefix to the author URL.

function add_custom_prefix_to_author_link($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    return home_url('/custom-prefix/' . $author_nicename);
}
add_filter('author_link', 'add_custom_prefix_to_author_link', 10, 3);

Redirect author URL to a custom page

This code redirects the author URL to a custom page.

function redirect_author_to_custom_page($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    return home_url('/custom-page/' . $author_id);
}
add_filter('author_link', 'redirect_author_to_custom_page', 10, 3);

Add UTM parameters to author URL

This code adds UTM parameters to the author URL for tracking.

function add_utm_to_author_link($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    return $link . '?utm_source=author&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=author_' . $author_id;
}
add_filter('author_link', 'add_utm_to_author_link', 10, 3);

Remove author URL and replace with a hashtag

This code removes the author URL and replaces it with a hashtag.

function remove_author_link($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    return '#';
}
add_filter('author_link', 'remove_author_link', 10, 3);

This code changes the author URL to their social media profile.

function change_author_link_to_social_profile($link, $author_id, $author_nicename) {
    $twitter_url = get_user_meta($author_id, 'twitter_url', true);
    if (!empty($twitter_url)) {
        return $twitter_url;
    }
    return $link;
}
add_filter('author_link', 'change_author_link_to_social_profile', 10, 3);