If you allow users to sign up on your site, controlling WordPress user roles and what permissions they get is crucial. A plugin like User Registration simplifies this by making it easy to manage new users and assign the right roles from the start.
However, before assigning roles, it’s important to understand how WordPress roles and permissions work. This knowledge is essential for effective team management and task delegation for the website.
So, we’ll explore everything from what user roles and permissions are to how to customize them in this guide.
What are the Default WordPress User Roles?
WordPress comes with five default user roles, each with distinct capabilities.
Administrator
The administrator is the most powerful user role in WordPress, overseeing all aspects of the website.
They can create and manage content, moderate comments, handle themes and plugins, and manage user accounts.
Since having too many administrators can lead to mismanagement and security risks, it’s advisable to keep the number of admins minimal.
Who to assign: The owner of a website or the user who oversees website management is the ideal candidate for the WordPress admin role.
Editor
Editors manage all website content. They have the ability to view, edit, delete, and publish any post, manage pages, moderate comments, and handle tags, categories, and links.
They can also upload files and images. However, editors don’t have the authority to manage themes and plugins.
Who to assign: A trusted team member who handles content management and editorial decisions is best suited for the editor role.
Author
Authors can create, edit, and publish their own posts, with the ability to delete them as well.
However, they don’t have control over other authors’ content or site management features.
Who to assign: The author role is well-suited for individual content creators who manage their own posts on your website.
Contributor
Contributors can create and edit their own posts, but they don’t have the permission to publish them.
Unlike authors, their role is limited to drafting content.
Who to assign: This role is perfect for guest writers or freelancers who need editorial approval before their content goes live.
Subscriber
Subscribers (or followers) have the fewest privileges. They can only read website content and manage their personal profiles.
They don’t have access to the WordPress dashboard or the ability to create content.
Who to assign: This role is appropriate for users who want to subscribe to updates or manage their membership on the site.
Each of these roles allows administrators to delegate responsibilities and maintain website security efficiently.
How to Create New User Roles in WordPress? (Custom Roles)
By default, WordPress doesn’t support creating new user roles, but you can easily add this functionality with user role creator plugins.
Two popular and user-friendly options for creating and editing custom user roles in WordPress are:
- User Role Editor
- Members
Creating a New User Role with User Role Editor
Here’s a simple guide on how to use the User Role Editor plugin to create custom WordPress user roles for your website:
- Download and install the User Role Editor plugin from your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to Users > User Role Editor.
- Add a New Role:
- Click on Add Role on the right side of the page.
- Enter the role details and click Add Role.
- After creating the role, you can add and manage capabilities directly from the dashboard.
That’s it! With these simple steps, you can easily create and customize user roles to meet your needs.
Similarly, you can rename, edit, or delete a role or capability on your website from the options at the right. The list of the capabilities you can add or remove is available on the main page.
Similarly, the Members plugin follows a comparable process for creating new roles. You can also customize these roles as per your liking. Also, feel free to explore other role management plugins as well!
Note: Some plugins (like WooCommerce) automatically create custom user roles (like “Customer”). These roles are specific to the plugin and not part of WordPress’s default roles.
How to Change User Roles in WordPress?
Now, let’s see how you can change roles for a specific user on your website.
- In the Users tab, select All Users.
- Check the box next to the user whose role you want to change.
- Choose a new role from the Change Role to dropdown, then click Change.
This will update the user’s permissions based on their new role.
To make further edits, hover over the user and click Edit. From there, you can update details like their name, contact info, and password. Don’t forget to click Update User to save changes.
How to Create New WordPress Users and Assign a Role?
There are two ways to create a new user in WordPress:
1. Add a New User from the Dashboard
By default, WordPress lets you add new users on your website from the User tab and assign a user role.
- Log into your WordPress dashboard as an administrator.
- Go to Users > All Users and click Add New.
- Enter the new user’s information (Username, Email, and Password). You can generate a password automatically or enter a custom one.
- Check the box to send the user a notification email with login details.
- Select the user role you want to assign. The common options include Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber.
- Click Add New User to complete the process.
The new user will now appear on the Users page alongside existing users.
2. Allow Users to Register via a Form (Using a Plugin)
If you’re looking for more than just user role assignment, User Registration can be a great plugin.
It can fully let you customize your website registration and role assignment during registration. You can do so following these methods.
- Use a reliable registration plugin like User Registration to create a registration form.
- Customize the form by adding fields such as email and password using the drag-and-drop builder.
- Place the form on your website for users to fill out.
- Set the default user role for registrants by going to Form Settings. The default role is usually Subscriber, but you can change it based on your needs.
This method is ideal for automatically creating users like subscribers without manual input from the admin.
Wrapping Up
And that wraps up our guide on WordPress user roles and permissions. Understanding WordPress users and their access level means you are well-equipped to add and manage users on your site.
Want to read more? Check out our handy blog posts on how to restrict access by user roles and how to create a custom user profile page.
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