The main part of any website is its content. But the messenger is as important as the message. If readers know who wrote something they liked, they will likely search for new articles from the same author on that website. Author boxes play a key role in that chain. Author boxes are small boxes, usually placed at the bottom of the article. The author box contains main information about the author, explaining his/her experience, work, hobbies, and social media links. An author box connects readers with the author, and at the same time, puts the website on a more professional level due to the transparent and protected work. Author boxes are beneficial for the website and the authors.
Some of the important benefits are:
- Better organization of the website (see articles by specific authors)
- Always available information about authors. Readers can reach the author any time using social media links.
- It helps authors to obtain new future collaborations.
- Credibility and authenticity: readers like to know who is behind some work, and they like to see that the work and authors are valued and credited.
- Articles signed with the author box prove that articles contain original and authentic information.
- Personal information helps with increasing traffic on the website. If the author is popular, he/she attracts new readers and visitors. The information inside author boxes is crucial for SEO.
Author boxes are an important part of the website, and they require some time and knowledge for better performance. Luckily, it is not necessary to code every time from scratch. Or, if you do not have any programming knowledge, it is not necessary at all. There are already developed author box plugins that you can include on your website. There are many available on the market, but the simplest one and the one with the longest list of features is Simple Author Box.
Simple Author Box
Simple Author Boxis a plugin for creating responsive author boxes which are also customizable and ready for any adjustments a webmaster or author wants to make (style, color, size of the text, or place on the website). It can contain all the information that the author might consider important and helpful for better reach (author’s avatar, name, website and social media profiles, description). It can automatically add author boxes on posts and also assign posts to guest authors. It supports multiple authors on one article.
Simple Author Box offers 45 social media icons.
Some of these features are only available in the Simple Author Box PRO version.
Setting up Simple Author Box
Activation of this plugin requires creating an account, downloading the plugin, and straightforward installation.
The next step is creating the author box and later adjusting it to the author’s personality and profile. This plugin allows changing the full appearance of the box. You can adjust margins, paddings, and borders. The author’s image can be stylized with different shapes, and it can become an animation once the mouse goes over it.
Every part of the box can have a different font or color (the author name can be one color, the text a different color, borders and background another color). If these changes are not enough, there is an option to write custom CSS code. Also, if there is something you want to add about the author, you can add more detailed tabs. Every tab can be modified with CSS properties.
Any of these changes can be done anytime, and the entire plugin can be rebranded.
Conclusion
Author boxes should be an important part of every website. They give detailed information about the author, making the distance between the reader and the author smaller and insignificant. Author boxes put the author and the website on a higher professional level and improve search and user experience. With little effort, you can add author boxes on the bottom of your articles. As the name suggests, Simple Author Box is a plugin that guarantees easy and simple installation. It provides many great features and possibilities that should help your overall website experience and traffic.
