XeroWP
Authors Posts Widget
Authors Posts Widget

Authors Posts Widget

5/5 (2 ratings) 80 active installs Updated Oct 29, 2026
author postsauthorsposts by authorshortcodewidget
Download v2.0.0 Plugin Website
The Authors Posts block with its settings in the editor.

The Authors Posts block with its settings in the editor.

Authors Posts Widget lists your authors and their latest posts in a tidy, collapsible list that works in sidebars, footers, pages and posts. Visitors open an author to see what they have written, with no page reload.

Version 2 is a full rebuild for modern WordPress: a Gutenberg block, a shortcode, the classic widget, faster queries, caching, better accessibility and tighter security.

Features

  • Three ways to use it: block, widget (classic and block widget areas) and the [authors_posts] shortcode.
  • Collapsible authors built on native HTML <details>: keyboard friendly, screen-reader friendly and works even when JavaScript is blocked.
  • Control what is shown: posts per author, excerpts (with length), avatars, post counts, post dates, “View all posts” archive link, expand the first author by default.
  • Order and filter: order authors by name or by number of posts, exclude authors by ID.
  • Fast: one small set of queries per list, cached automatically and refreshed when posts or users change. Styles load only on pages that show a list.
  • Looks right in your theme: colors inherit from the theme (light, dark, block themes), RTL ready, optional link color.
  • Secure by default: every input is validated, every output escaped, password-protected excerpts are never shown and only public display names are used.
  • Translation ready.

Shortcode

[authors_posts number="3" display_excerpt="true" orderby="post_count" order="DESC"]

Attributes: number, orderby (name, post_count), order (ASC, DESC), exclude, max_authors, display_excerpt, excerpt_length, show_avatar, avatar_size, show_count, show_date, link_author, open_first.

Developers

The list is built from clean filters and actions (for example apw_default_args, apw_query_args, apw_users_args, apw_author_data, apw_post_data, apw_cache_ttl, apw_max_posts_per_author). Cached lists can be cleared from Settings > Authors Posts Widget.

Pro

A Pro add-on is available with accordion and card layouts, live author search, post thumbnails, author bios, post type and category filters, role filters and a “Load more” button. See Settings > Authors Posts Widget > Pro for details.