Author Mapping
Every Shopify article has an author name. Wash fills it from WordPress when it syncs a post. Author mapping lets you replace a WordPress user's name with a different one on Shopify, for pen names, a company byline, or one consistent name across several sites.
Author mapping is part of the Pro plan and above.
Without author mapping
Wash uses the WordPress author's Display name. If that's empty it falls back to the username, then to the site name. You change it the usual way, under Users > Profile > Display name publicly as.
Setting it up
- Go to Settings > Wash Connector and open the Authors tab
- Tick Enable Author Mapping
- In the User → Author Name Mapping table, type the name to show on Shopify next to each WordPress user in the Shopify Author Name column
- Click Save Changes
Leave a name empty to keep that user's WordPress display name. The table shows each user's Current Display Name for reference.
| WordPress User | Current Display Name | Shopify Author Name |
|---|---|---|
| jsmith | John Smith | The Editorial Team |
| akowalska | Anna Kowalska | (empty: uses "Anna Kowalska") |
When changes apply
A new name applies to articles synced after you save. To update articles already in Shopify, sync them again: update the post, or select posts in the Posts list and choose Re-publish to Shopify from Bulk actions.
If you untick Enable Author Mapping, the table is kept but ignored, and articles synced from then on use display names again.
Author bios and photos
Shopify articles only store an author name, and Wash sends only the name. To show a bio or photo on Shopify, keep it in a custom field on the post and sync it as a metafield (see Custom Fields), then render it in your theme.
Importing from Shopify
When you import articles from Shopify, Wash matches each article's author to a WordPress user with the same display name. It never creates users: an unmatched article gets the user who ran the import.
Troubleshooting
The Authors tab is locked
Author mapping needs the Pro plan or above.
Shopify still shows the old name
- Check Enable Author Mapping is ticked and the settings were saved
- Sync the article again. Existing articles don't change until they're synced
- Check the theme. Some themes hide the author or take it from somewhere else