The term author in WordPress refers to a predefined user role. A user with the author role has the ability to upload files, write, modify, publish, and delete articles. They can also change their passwords and alter their profiles.
Websites with numerous authors normally give the contributor status to writers or use a plugin to create a user role with customized capabilities because a user with author role has the ability to delete and alter their own published posts and articles. This minimizes the possibility of miscommunication or dismissed writers deleting their work.
Many websites also feature author pages where they can provide biographical information. This is normally done via the built-in author archive pages, which show a list of all of their posts.
On their sidebar or about page, some sites even offer a list of authors with images.
By customizing the pages to display such information, you can also display custom information about them. Name, date of birth, location, social profiles, and other information may be included.