Changing Author Display Name in WordPress Programmatically

To programmatically Changing Author in WordPress, you can utilize WordPress’s built-in functions and hooks. Firstly, you need to locate the user ID of the author whose display name you want to modify. Once you have the user ID, you can use the wp_update_user() function to update the user’s display name.

This function takes an array of user data, including the ID and display_name fields. Set the display_name field to the desired new name, and pass the updated user data to wp_update_user(). This will programmatically update the display name of the author in WordPress.

In addition, you may want to consider using hooks and filters to perform this action. For example, you can use the user_profile_update_errors filter to validate and modify the display name before it is saved. You can add a custom function to this filter that checks and modifies the display name as needed.

By using hooks and filters, you can programmatically change the display name of the author in a more flexible and controlled manner, ensuring that any additional logic or validations are applied during the process.

To change the author display name in WordPress programmatically, you can use the wp_update_user() function with the appropriate arguments. Here’s a brief explanation of the process:

1. Get the user ID of the author whose display name you want to change.
2. Use the get_userdata() function to retrieve the user data based on the user ID.
3. Modify the display name field in the user data object.
4. Call the wp_update_user() function, passing the modified user data object as the argument.

By doing this, you can programmatically change the display name of an author in WordPress.

Regarding the types of display names you can change programmatically, there are two main options:

Display Name: This is the name that is publicly shown on the author’s posts and comments. You can change the display name programmatically using the method described above.

1. User Login Name: This is the username used for logging into WordPress. It is generally not recommended to change the login name programmatically as it can cause login and authentication issues.
2. Display Name: This is the name that is publicly shown on the author’s posts and comments. You can change the display name programmatically using the method described above.

It’s important to note that changing the display name does not affect the user’s login credentials or username. It only updates how their name is displayed on the website.

Put below code snippet in your active theme’s functions.php file

function the_modified_author_callback( $display_name ){
//Play with the logic
$display_name = "This is author";
return $display_name;
}

add_filter('the_modified_author', 'the_modified_author_callback' );