So you’ve already picked a great web host and started creating your WordPress website – super! As your company begins to expand, so will your team and those who require access to your WordPress website.
If you’re not familiar with user roles and permissions on WordPress, things can get kinda messy. Fear not! That’s why we’re here. This article will break down the basics you need to know.
Let’s first understand what WordPress roles and permissions are.
WordPress user roles are essentially a collection of access privileges. These users are assigned to different groups by the site owner based on the duties they will carry out on the website.
This is where permissions come in. Permissions are the privileges that the user roles have. The users’ access to and ability to perform certain actions within the WordPress dashboard are controlled by these permissions.
Simply put, WordPress user roles and permissions enable website owners to regulate what particular users are allowed to do on their platforms.
Now, before we get into the different WordPress roles and permissions, you may want to consider getting a managed WordPress hosting platform. If you want results but lack the time or expertise to handle behind-the-scenes management for your WordPress website, then signing up will be very helpful for you and your business.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into the 6 different WordPress roles.
The highest-level user on a WordPress site is the Super Admin. They are typically only present on WordPress installations with multiple sites and have complete control over all features and settings within the Multisite network.
Users with this role can manage everything on the website, including adding and removing users, installing and activating plugins, managing themes, and more. On top of this, they also have the ability to add and remove other Administrators, make new sites, and manage the content on each site.
For non Multisite installations, the administrator is the most powerful user, and has the key to unlocking every door on your website. Anyone with this role has total control over the WordPress dashboard. They have the freedom to change parts of your website whenever they want and can add new pages, posts, plugins, and themes.
Basically, every setting is available to the administrator role. They also have the ability to control other users and modify their information, roles, and passwords.
An editor, as the title of this user role suggests, is typically in charge of managing content. That’s why they have high-level access and have the ability to edit, publish, create, and delete both pages and posts, including those written by other users. They also have the ability to manage links and categories and also moderate comments.
While they have a lot of access, editors can only do so much. For instance, they are unable to make site-wide adjustments like installing updates or adding plugins and themes. Instead, they are in charge of evaluating the authors’ and contributors’ work.
Compared to editors, authors have fewer permissions. For instance, they are unable to edit pages or change user-generated content, and also have no administrative abilities of any kind.
They are, however, able to write, modify, remove, and publish their own posts (and upload media files). This pretty much says everything about their position: an author’s only responsibility is to produce content.
A simplified version of the author role is what the contributor role basically is.
A contributor can only perform three functions:
Because it does not allow users to upload media files or publish posts, this role is quite limited. But, it is best suited for first-time and inexperienced content creators.
Subscribers typically have a WordPress dashboard that is incredibly minimal and only has one primary function. All they can pretty much do is manage their own profiles and read every post on the website.
Most sites won’t use this feature because technically anyone can read posts without being given a role by default. But, when you want to restrict access to content for specific individuals on subscription-based websites, it is very useful.
Now that you understand what each user role can do, let’s look at how to manage them. We’ll dive into how you can add, update, and delete user roles.
When you want to add a new user, you first need to have the Admin role. After that, the process of adding user roles in WordPress is fairly simple from there on.
This is where you’ll initially assign permissions for different roles. But, of course, if changing the user’s role later better suits your needs, you can always do so as the Administrator. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.
So, let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide on how to add user roles:
If you want to add more users, simply repeat these steps again!
A WordPress user’s role can be changed instantly, and they will receive an email informing them of their new role on your website.
Here’s how to do it:
When you save the changes, WordPress immediately applies the new roles and permissions.
There can be instances where a user needs to be completely removed from your website.
For example, maybe you employed a temporary freelance editor to work on your website for a period of two months. So when the two-month period ends and the contract expires, you might want to remove his access from your website.
Follow the steps below to delete a user role:
Users who you removed access from your website will be notified through their email and they’ll no longer possess any login information on your site.
Knowing how to use the different user roles effectively is just as crucial as understanding them and how they work.
With that said, every site works differently, but you can follow some of our general advice for using this simple yet amazing feature:
And, always keep in mind that when in doubt, it’s better to grant very few permissions than too many.
Understanding the various capabilities attached to each role is important if you want to properly manage WordPress user permission and roles. This will ensure that your website remains safe and functions properly by having the right settings in place.
With this knowledge, you can better manage your website and make certain that users have access to the right level of content and features.
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