Different Types of User Roles in WordPress
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that is used to create and manage websites.
One of the key features of WordPress is the ability to assign different roles to users, which determines the level of access and permissions that each user has on the site.
In WordPress, there are six different user roles: Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber and Guest.
Each of these roles has its own set of capabilities and permissions, which allow users to perform specific tasks on the site.
Administrator has the highest level of access and is responsible for managing the network of sites in a WordPress multisite installation.
Administrator has access to all the features and settings on a single site installation.
Editor, Author and Contributor are more restrictive roles with more focused capabilities.
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What is User Role?
User roles in WordPress are like different types of jobs or positions, each with its own particular set of abilities.
Each user role has the ability to do certain things and cannot “see” other elements on the site that might be inappropriate for their permission level.
6 types of user roles in WordPress
1. Administrator
The user with this role can perform almost any action on your site.
They have full control over the WP backend and the ability to add, edit or delete any post or page, then lock down a post or page from further changes.
They also have access to all of the tools within WordPress so they can manage plugins and themes from their WordPress dashboard.
2. The Editor
This role can update, edit and delete posts as well as manage categories, tags and other post-related items.
They also have access to the media library.
3. Author
Authors can write, edit and publish their own posts but may not create categories or tags without permission from an editor.
If an author tries to publish a post with a category that he/she doesn’t have access to, it will automatically be assigned to the Uncategorized category.
Authors cannot upload files onto the site but they can still link to them so visitors will only see the link instead of where it’s actually located.
These links will usually direct you outside of your site domain.
The author role is slightly limited in comparison to Editor and Contributor roles in that they cannot export posts with the Press This tool.
4. Contributor
Contributors can write, edit, publish and delete their own posts but not any posts by other users.
They cannot upload files to the site either, so links within their posts will direct you outside of your site domain.
5. Subscriber
A subscriber role does not have permission to create new content on your site or even view existing content except for comments posted on blog posts.
However, they still receive all email notifications that are set up on a site.
Any comment postings made by subscribers are usually hidden from public view,
because subscribers do not have sufficient permissions to modify anything beyond what’s required for them to place comments on blog entries.
Site owners sometimes choose to give subscribers commenting abilities so they can monitor community activity on their site.
6. Guest
The guest user role is automatically assigned to anyone who visits your blog who isn’t logged in or doesn’t have a WordPress account.
They cannot create posts and any attempt to do so will result in an error telling them they must sign up for an account first.
However, guests can still leave comments with appropriate contact info.
Site owners sometimes use this user role as an anonymous blogging tool that allows visitors to make public comments without revealing their identities.
How are different roles created in WordPress?
On many sites, you’ll see more than one of some roles listed because more than one role was assigned at some point during the configuration of the site.
1. Log into your site’s administration panel by entering the address for your blog followed immediately by /wp-admin into the location bar of your browser.
If you have changed the default name for your installation, then enter that instead.
2. Once the main WordPress menu appears on the screen, choose “Users” from the left-hand nav and select “Add New”.
This will present the user registration form to add a new user.
3. On this page you will see several options for assigning a role to each new user.
Select one of these from the dropdown box labelled “Role” and click on the button marked “Add New User”.
4. On the next page, enter a username for the new user as well as an email address they can use to reset their password if they forget it in the future.
There are several options available for all of these fields but you can leave most of them blank for now.
5. Scroll further down the page until you see the section labelled “Role” which will contain all available roles to choose from.
Select one of these and then click on the button marked “Add User”.
You will return to the main Users screen where your newly registered user is waiting with their username and role already assigned.
6. Now that the user has been added, you can set up their additional profile options like first name and last name by clicking on their username or the “Edit” link next to it.
You can change their role any time if needed but for now, they are safe with the default Contributor role assigned to them.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the button marked “Update Profile”.
Wrapping Up
Hope you understand the different types of user roles in WordPress and how to create them.
I know it can seem a little overwhelming, but as long as you take your time and plan ahead for each type of user role that will be using your site, everything should go smoothly!
If something doesn’t make sense or if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
One last thing – check back soon because we’ll be posting additional blog posts on this topic with more tips coming up shortly!
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