WordPress user roles define permissions for users to perform certain tasks or to access certain areas in your website’s admin section. The roles range from having absolute website power to only being able to update your profile. Specific roles should be given for every user as you wouldn’t want one of your customers to have access to your site’s content. WordPress offers six predefined roles that come standard with your installation.
Let’s find out what each WordPress user roles is for—starting with the role that has the most control.
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Why Are WordPress User Roles Important?
With user roles, you can control access to different areas of your site, assign specific responsibilities to different users, and ensure that your content remains secure. Listed below is each user role in order of most important to least.
Super admin
The super admin role has complete administration access to all the websites that are part of a multi-site network. If you are not running a multi-site network then the next user role will be the highest role on your site.
Admin
The admin user role has access to all administration options, features, plugins and themes.
Editor
The editor role has the ability to manage, publish, review content and schedule posts.
Author
The author user role has the ability to publish and edit their own posts.
Contributor
The contributor role has the ability to write posts and send for an author or editor review. Contributors cannot schedule or post to the website.
Subscriber
The subscriber user role has basic functionality such as updating their profile or leaving a comment. If you are running a store a subscriber will have the ability to update the shop specific details like billing address, credit card information and phone number.
How to Check User Roles in WordPress
- When logged in as an Admin
- Click Users in the left navigation > All Users
- The fourth column in the grid displays each users role
To adjust a user role, simply:
- Click on the username that needs to be updated
- Under Name > Role > select a new user role from the dropdown
- Scroll to the bottom and click the Update User button
Overall, WordPress user roles are a powerful feature that can help you to effectively manage your website and improve the user experience. By taking the time to understand how user roles work and implementing them strategically, you can unlock the full potential of your WordPress site.
