What's inside this article:
- Basic information
- Who or what should be an author?
- Author bio pages
- Descriptions on author bio pages
- Content links on author bio pages
- Author names on content pages
- Author highlight boxes
- SEO for author bio pages
- Update site localization
Basic information
Internet users increasingly demand high-quality content written by experts. In the age of fake news, disinformation, and AI-generated content, it has never been more important to tell visitors exactly who is creating your content. On Pangea sites, this can be achieved by adding authors to content pages.
To build trust with your audience and boost the authority of your content:
- Consistently add authors to content pages.
- Maintain high-quality author bio pages.
This article provides an overview of how you can share information about authors on Pangea sites.
Who or what should be an author?
In most cases, an author should represent an individual person. An author might also represent a third-party news agency (such as Reuters or Associated Press).
We do not suggest using the names of specific language services as authors. This approach implies that the content is editorial (representing the opinion of the service as a whole), which is normally not the case.
Author bio pages
Author bio pages showcase the experience and expertise of your content creators. High-quality bio pages boost the authority of your site and build trust with your audience.
The visible elements on each bio page are customizable. A bio page might include some or all of the following elements:
- (A): Name: The author name (real name or pen name). Defined in the author settings.
- (B): Image: An image representing the author. Defined in the author settings.
- (C): Description: A description / biography. Visible only if provided in the author settings.
- (D): Email: A contact email address. Visible only if enabled in the author settings.
- (E): Follow: Links to social media profiles (X and / or Facebook). Visible only if enabled in the author settings.
- (F): Subscribe: A link that lets visitors subscribe to content via RSS. Visible on all author bio pages unless disabled for the whole site.
- (G): Content links: Links to recently published content. Visible only if enabled in the author settings.
For detailed information about the author settings, see the following article:
Descriptions on author bio pages
The description / biography is the most important element on an author bio page. Although it is not required, we strongly recommend providing a description for every author. For details, see the following article:
Content links on author bio pages
A bio page might include links to the author's most recently published content pages. This functionality can be enabled or disabled in the settings for each individual author. For details, see the following article:
According to default configuration, a maximum of 20 items might be visible. Only the following content page types are listed:
- Dynamic infographics
- Article
- Feature story
- Photo gallery
- Slider gallery
- Transcript
- Video
Contact Pangea Customer Care to set a custom configuration for your site. It is possible to change the maximum number of items and the content page types that are listed. The changes will apply for all authors on your site (changes for individual authors are not possible).
Author names on content pages
You can add one or more author names to any content page. The names are displayed at the top of the published page. To learn how to add an author to a content page, see the following article:
Each author name might function as a clickable link to the author's bio page. This functionality can be enabled or disabled in the settings for each individual author. For details, see the following article:
Author highlight box
On text content pages, an author highlight box for each added author might be displayed below the main content. This makes the author information available directly on the page without an additional click.
When Highlight author is enabled in the author settings, the author highlight box is displayed automatically on text content pages. For details, see the following article:
Author highlight boxes are displayed on the following text content page types:
- Article
- Blog
- FactCheck
- Feature
- Feature story
- News
- Transcript
SEO for author bio pages
To improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your site, it is important that each author bio page has a defined meta description.
The meta description might be visible:
- As the description on search engine results pages
- If the bio page is shared via social media
The meta description for an author bio page is defined as follows (if 1 is not filled, the data is taken from 2):
- The Short description field in the author settings
- The Description field in the author settings
If neither field is filled, the meta description is empty.
Update site localization
Individual sites can localize general text that appears on all author bio pages. The following configuration keys are available via the Site localization tool in Pangea CMS:
AuthorBio.PageTitle
- Text that is included in the meta title for all author bio pages
- Default value: RFE/RL Author Bio / VOA Author Bio / Marti Noticias Author Bio
Responsive.Article.AuthorBy
- The text displayed above content links on author bio pages
- Default value: Produced by
Responsive.AuthorHighlight.Follow.Facebook.Text
- The text displayed on the 'Follow' button for Facebook
- Default value: LIKE
Responsive.AuthorHighlight.Follow.Twitter.Text
- The text displayed on the 'Follow' button for X (Twitter)
- Default value: FOLLOW
Responsive.AuthorHighlight.Follow.Subscribe.Text
- The text displayed on the subscribe via RSS button
- Default value: Subscribe
