If you’re the only blogger on your WordPress website, then you’ve probably never had to think about assigning user roles. However, if you ever decide to give access to other people, it is important that you understand the different privileges given to each role.
The last thing you want to do is give access to someone who is going to sabotage your website. That’s why user roles are designed to ensure that no one has more power than they need.
First, to set your default user role, log in to your WordPress AdminCp > Settings > General. By enabling anyone can register, you will allow people to register an account on your website with the default user role that you set. In this article, I will go over the different WordPress user roles! Without further ado, let’s get started.
5 Default WordPress User Roles
By default, WordPress comes with 5 different user roles. You can probably add more through the use of plugins (not too sure), but understanding the default WordPress user roles will help protect your website from a potential disaster.
#1. Administrator
As the owner of your website, this role is assigned to you by the default. Basically, as the administrator, you are the king of the world (well, just your website). If you assign another user with this role, he or she will have the ability to access all the functions of your WordPress admincp.
As an administrator, there is very little that you can’t do:
- Create, Edit, and Delete Pages and Posts
- Manage Plugins and Themes
- Delete Other Users
- Moderate Comments
- Edit Codes
- Change the Websites Name
- The list goes on and on and on…
Unless this person is highly trusted, I would strongly advise against giving anyone administrative access because it’s like giving someone the key to your house.
#2. Editor
You could’ve probably guessed what an editor is. Well, an editor is a role assigned to users who are responsible for managing content. They can create, edit, delete and publish both pages and posts (including content created by other users).
As an editor, he or she can also manage links, categories, and moderate comments. The only thing he or she can’t do is make changes that affect the website such as installing themes, plugins, updates, etc.
#3. Author
An author is similar to an editor, but with fewer permissions. An author cannot edit pages and content produced by other users. The responsibility of an author is to create their own content only.
Which means, they can create, edit, delete and publish their own content. So if you a trusted group of content writers, you can assign this role to them. Again, only to a trusted group of content writers because they can publish their own content.
#4. Contributor
The contributor is another step down from an author. Basically, a contributor can read all posts, editing and deleting their own blog posts. However, a contributor cannot publish posts or upload media related files. This is usually a role assigned to guest bloggers or people who are not going to frequently write for your website.
#5. Subscriber
This is a role usually assigned to users if you run a subscription-based website. Because anyone can read your content, but you can hide certain content and only enable access to people who receive the subscriber role. Other than that, they cannot create, edit, delete and publish anything.
In Conclusion
Before giving out user roles, you should always consider the consequences first. Some of these roles will allow someone to change or delete your content.
That’s why you should only give certain roles to certain users. By reading the above user role descriptions, it should help you get a better grasp of which user role is appropriate to use and when to use it.
By clearly identifying the role and responsibilities per person. You’ll be able to choose the appropriate user role, so you don’t give someone too much or too little permission.
Hopefully, this short article helped you understand the 5 default user roles in WordPress. If you have any additional questions, please leave a message down below and I will try my best to help you out!
Kind Regards,
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