WordPress User Roles and Permission Management Explained

Out of the box, WordPress includes up to six different user roles.
Understanding each one is key if you want to protect your site and ensure your team of editors content creators work more effectively.
Hi, WordPress enthusiasts, my name is Robert and in this video, I'll explain five of these roles in turn.
I’ll also show you what the WordPress dashboard looks from the perspective of each role.
Let's start with the Administrator.
Level 1 THE ADMINISTRATOR 0:36
This is the role assigned to you when you create a website.
The administrator is at the very top of the hierarchy.
In most cases, there is only one, and they can access all the functions of the WordPress backend.
Administrators can do everything.
This user role can, in part create, edit, and delete any content, manage plugins and themes, edit code, delete or manage other user accounts.
Obviously, the administrator is the most powerful user role and should rarely be assigned to any other account.
If you give someone else this user role, you’re essentially giving them the keys to the castle.
So be careful!
For multisite owners, the Super Admin role is the one that has such capabilities.
Level 2 THE EDITOR 1:45
Now that I am logged in as the administrator, let me create a new user with the editor role.
Remember that you can give access to certain people through your login page even if the "anyone can register" feature is disabled in the general settings of your website.
One of those people may be your copywriter, set as your editor, who can receive an email once the account is created if this box is checked.
As the name of this user role suggests, an editor is generally responsible for managing content and thus has a high level of access.
They can create, edit, delete and publish both pages and posts - even those belonging to other users.
An editor can also moderate comments and manage categories and links.
However, they cannot make site-wide changes such as adding plugins and themes or installing updates.
Instead, they are responsible for overseeing the work of authors and contributors.
Level 3 THE AUTHOR 3:11
An author has far fewer permissions than editors.
They cannot edit pages and are unable to alter other users’ content.
In addition, they lack any sort of administrative capabilities.
What they can do is create, edit, delete, and publish their own posts, and upload media files.
This makes their role pretty clear.
Authors are responsible for creating content, and nothing more.
Level 4 THE CONTRIBUTOR 3:57
The contributor role is essentially a stripped-down version of the author's role.
A contributor is only able to perform three tasks - reading all posts, as well as deleting and editing their own posts.
This role is quite limited since it doesn’t enable users to publish posts or upload media files.
However, it’s ideal for one-time and new content creators.
Level 5 SUBSCRIBER 4:15
Subscribers have only one main capability and their WordPress dashboard is usually incredibly bare.
They can read all posts on the site, as well as manage their own profiles.
Normally, anyone can read posts without being assigned a role, so not all sites will use this option.
However, it comes in handy for subscription-based sites, where you want to enable access to content only for certain people.
Understanding the various user roles is important, but so is knowing how to apply them correctly.
Every site is a little different, but here are a few tips for making the best use of this feature:
Give each user only the level of access they need.
This is key for security, so no one can make unapproved changes or delete content accidentally.
Keep the number of user roles at the top limited.
A solid rule of thumb is to stick with one administrator and a few trusted editors.
The Author role can be assigned to regular content creators who have proven themselves, and new or one-time writers can simply be given the contributor role.
Try using plugins to customize your user roles.
The default system is effective, but you may benefit from a plugin to enhance its functionality.
User role plugins enable you to create your own specialized roles, alter the existing ones, and more.
I recommend starting with the aptly-named User Role Editor.
wordpress.org/plugins/user-ro...
And always remember - when in doubt, it’s better to assign too few permissions than too many.
Make sure you understand the five, sometimes six basic user roles in WordPress, and what each is capable of.
Then, you can follow a few simple techniques to take advantage of this feature.
#WordPress #UserRoles #UserCapabilities

[@RobertPeterK]

I hope this video finds you well. God bless you guys! Let me know if you have questions in the comments below.

[@RobertPeterK]

@@HorrorFootage Will do, thank you. Keep it up.

[@RobertPeterK]

@@HorrorFootage Good idea, I will do a research on that.

[@eclecticpapercraftart]

How do you give access to a web developer to work on a plugin without giving an administrator role? Tks

[@robertmacgillivray2111]

Hi can you help me. I recently had someone create me a website on WordPress. Evrything has been done very well. He's now blocked me on fiver website he's got loads of good reviews but I'm worried as I can't change my passwords on WordPress. Also on user's he's top of the list then me both admin. What can I do I'm really worried any help please

[@laagodfather4435]

Thank you so much for making everything so simple and straightforward.

[@daleanderson1727]

Good tutorial. Glad that you showed you doing the steps rather than just talking about it. Excellent that you included time stamps in the comments. Bravo. You just earned a subscriber.

[@RobertPeterK]

Thank you Dale. Your feedback means a lot to me. I invite you to follow my personal YT channel, I am done here.

[@daleanderson1727]

@@RobertPeterK just subscribed to your personal YT channel. Thanks for the tip!

[@keithjasperato9426]

This is actually what im looking for, not the other that consist of many restriction pages. back to basics

[@shivamdeshmukh7170]

Exactly on point....Great post!

[@denisesilvaart]

How would you give access to a web developer?

[@mamapreneur]

Super informative video Robert, thank you for posting!

[@Burra06]

Greatly explained. Awesome vid, thank you 4 the info! Subscribed for more classes!

[@jamesdavis8731]

really good video. Super good explanation of the roles.

[@mdazhardware]

Thanks Robert for this helpful video, great as usual.

[@RobertPeterK]

Awesome. I'm glad to hear that, thanks.

[@beatztito]

so helpful thank you!

[@StudioGalvan]

Exactly what I needed to learn!

[@RobertPeterK]

Glad to hear that

[@nexttvc]

Hi, I am looking option to restrict my web editor to access time frame. that He can get access every day for an hour or 2. not all day access. I have user that I want to give me login access but with time limit to spend on website. Please let me know if there's any solutions? Thank you

[@encodity]

Very well presented

[@sophiarenalds1586]

Excellent, thank you.

[@cryptalphatrading7336]

Awesome and precise

[@bahaiwebsites]

I like this, but I don't understand what the SuperAdmin plugin does.

[@agenciaesencial2443]

Hello, Wordpress changed in 2021? I can't find that line in the 2021 settting -> general

[@doky2571]

Thank you!

[@Jackbennett01]

Very helpful, thank you

[@ThemeIsle]

Thank you for your feedback! Glad to hear this!

[@ebukaogbonna8430]

Can someone giving admin role remove the account of the real owner of the site?

[@Farmergallo]

if i hire someone from fiverr to edit templates and the overall look of my site, what role should i assign them, and best for safety?

[@Laprintanddesign]

Did you ever find out about your question? I'm looking to hire someone on fivver for my Google Search console fixes, but cautious about handing a complete stranger the keys.

[@rich208]

My same question right now and of course no one gave a answer

[@oussamann1]

Good tutorial , thank you

[@ThemeIsle]

You are welcome!

[@ajaysah43]

how to give access to only one page or some pages which needed

[@anthonykenani307]

This is more helpful 👍🏾

[@Planetgreenzen]

Thank you

[@sissyv.6074]

When I'm trying to add new user I have only username, email and role. In my WordPress I don't have first name, last name, website and password when I click on add new user. Do you know how to solve this?

[@mobileplus-5934]

So, who can add new plugins after the admin is editor only?!

[@fenixlt]

hey if i need more help how to contact you?

[@iamdanyaal]

thank you sir

[@tuexperienciaonline9334]

Thanks Robert. I understand you and I have a problem. I need only one person to have access for each username and password. Not that more than one person accesses with the same username and password

[@RobertPeterK]

You should use something that is giving access only for specific IP

[@moneyfr]

Is there a way to give access only to use some plugin?

[@RobertPeterK]

I think you can do that with a complex user management plugins.

[@abinashchetia530]

i am not ba able to provide my access to anyone

[@bthebigboy2055]

Thanks alot robert , super useful info. But how can i give permission to a website designer? i met him over the internet, how can i trust him ? He has to design the website, how to go about this now ? Pls kindly help

[@9450745771]

create admin role . after role finished then delete user .

[@osakwevictor8731]

I want to delete the user that created my WordPress site

[@Eye_4_An_Eye]

how come when i make an editor user role, i can log into it but theres no dashboard or anything to edit at all. our site will have multiple users and i need editors to be able to log in and EDIT things

[@Kerberos1123]

how did you fix it?

[@Eye_4_An_Eye]

@@Kerberos1123 u can't. If a user has an editors role they have access to basically everything. But what u CAN do is hide the admin pane in the settings of the user. I can't remember how but that's about all I can do

[@Kerberos1123]

@@Eye_4_An_Eye already fixed it, pluggin called “Ultimate Member” was interfering with user permits so I just disabled it. Appreciate the quick response tho

[@Eye_4_An_Eye]

@@Kerberos1123 even with UM pmugin they still login as an admin though and have access. U can actually remove certain rights on each user

[@robertstar8240]

thanxs

[@kacperserafin3858]

Waist of time I wanna know hot to create role, and this video is just clicking around screen showing simple ABC I can find myself.

[@Gaming.Nexus2]

usa word press group

[@reignfire.0x00]

You talk about security, yet advising plugins to customize user roles... :facepalm

[@fajrulalam4569]

i stopped watching when he said "wordpress enthusiasts" eww no

[@life.is.adventure]

Thank you