WordPress has different user roles that provide varying levels of access to a website. To understand these roles better, it's important to first know what a user is and then learn about each specific role and its associated permissions.
WordPress and User Roles
It is crucial to have a solid understanding of how user roles function within WordPress, especially if you are a site owner. But how do user’s roles function in WordPress?
WordPress has predefined user roles that determine what users can and cannot do on a website.
There are five default user roles in WordPress: Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber.
Each user role has a different set of permissions that dictate what actions they can perform on the site.
User roles can be customized or additional roles can be added through plugins or code modifications.
The capabilities of each user role can be modified using plugins or custom code to provide more granular control over what users can do on a site.
These roles can be assigned to individual users or to groups of users.
What are the User Roles in WordPress?
A user role in WordPress is a set of permissions and capabilities that determines what a user can and cannot do on a WordPress website. By default, WordPress comes with five predefined user roles:
Administrator
The administrator is the most powerful user role in WordPress. This role has full access to all features and settings on the website, including the ability to install plugins and themes, manage other users, and delete content.
Editor
The editor is responsible for managing and publishing content on a WordPress website. Users with editor access can create, edit, and delete posts and pages, as well as moderate comments.
Author
Authors have the responsibility of creating and publishing content for the website they are assigned to. Users with author access can create, edit, and delete their own posts, but they cannot edit or delete posts created by other users.
Contributor
Contributors can create and edit their own posts, but they cannot publish them. Instead, their posts must be reviewed and published by an editor or administrator.
Subscriber
Subscribers have the lowest level of permissions in WordPress. They can only view content on the website and cannot create, edit, or publish any content.
How to Add More Roles in WordPress?
Adding or customizing user roles and permissions beyond the default settings is not possible through the WordPress native interface. However, third-party “WordPress Roles plugins” offer this functionality. Here are three of the most commonly used plugins as an example but there are plenty more available in the WordPress repository to choose from.
However, since personal preferences may vary, it is advisable to choose the plugin that best meets specific requirements based on its features and functionality.
User Role Editor
A powerful plugin that lets you create and edit user roles and capabilities easily. It comes with a simple interface that allows you to customize user roles as per your requirements.
WPFront User Role Editor
A simple and easy-to-use role plugin that allows you to add, edit, or delete user roles and capabilities. It also lets you clone existing roles and assign multiple roles to users.
Members
This plugin enables you to create new roles and customize existing roles. It provides control access to your content using shortcodes.
Conclusion
Understanding user roles in WordPress is crucial for managing your website effectively. By utilizing user roles, you can create a secure and efficient environment for managing your WordPress website.