Users in WordPress: Permissions and user types

 

In WordPress there is a powerful system that determines what a specific user may and may not do. That feature may seem unnecessary, but as soon as your page grows, you will notice that the feature for user roles is an excellent tool.

 

This guide gives you all the answers you need regarding what types of users are available, and why you should use them if there are several users working on your website.

 

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There are five user roles in the WordPress

1. administrator (Administrator)
2. Editors (Editor)
3. Author (Author)
4. Content Creators (Contributor)
5. Subscribers (Subscriber)

 

This gets each user to do

Permission / Permission	Administrator	Editor	Author	Creators	Subscriber
Login to the web page	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edit Post (not publ.)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Delete posts (not publ.)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Publish posts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Delete published posts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Edit published posts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Upload files	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Publish pages	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Edit other people’s posts and pages	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Delete other people’s posts and pages	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Read private content	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Edit private content	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Take delete private content	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Add and delete categories	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Moderate the comment field	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Create new users	Yes	No	No	No	No
Activate extensions	Yes	No	No	No	No
Delete and install extensions	Yes	No	No	No	No
Remove and install themes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Change theme settings	Yes	No	No	No	No
Change theme	Yes	No	No	No	No
Change user permissions	Yes	No	No	No	No
Import content	Yes	No	No	No	No
Export content	Yes	No	No	No	No
Update WordPress	Yes	No	No	No	No
Update extensions	Yes	No	No	No	No
Make changes to the WP interface	Yes	No	No	No	No

 

Below we talk more about each user type in more detail.

 

1. The administrator – who has the right to do everything

The site administrator can change exactly what she wants. Among other things, she can delete and add users, change themes and delete posts. By default, she is the owner of the website who is the administrator, who in turn can choose to add more administrators, editors or other user types.

 

2. The editor – is king of the material

Although the editor may not add users or install extensions, there are no restrictions on what he may publish. The editor can, among other things, add, delete and edit posts that others have made.

 

This user also handles the moderation of the comment field together with the administrator.

 

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3. The author – manages his own

The person who is the author can not decide over others. However, he has the authority to, among other things, edit, delete and publish new posts. The author can also add tags and categories in WordPress, but he is not allowed to moderate in the comments field.

 

This type of user mostly takes care of his own, and he is not allowed to do so many things that affect others. Apart from the fact that he can delete and edit posts that others have written.

 

4. Content creator – contributes material

Users who are content creators may not publish new posts, but she may edit the posts she has written herself. She is also not allowed to create new categories or tags, and in addition she is never allowed to upload photos – not even to her own posts.

 

In short, a content creator can contribute text material, but no more than that.

 

5. Subscriber – can in principle only log in

The person who is a subscriber can log in to WordPress, but not much more than that. He can also change his own password. He is not allowed to publish a post, or even write a post. This user role has many limitations and can not do any major benefit (or harm) to the site.

 

Super Admin – only when running multi-site

Super Admin is only available if you have a multisite installation of WordPress. This type of user can add and remove web pages across the entire network. She can also install extensions, themes, and change network settings that affect all or selected pages on the network.

 

How to add a user to WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress page. For example moviecool.com/wp-admin
2. Click on “Users” and after that “Add new”
3. Fill in a username (mandatory)
4. Fill in an email address (mandatory)
5. Fill in first and last name (optional)
6. Fill in the user has its own website (optional)
7. Decide which menu language the user should have (optional)
8. Enter the password that the user should have (let WP produce a secure password for the user, it is)
9. most secureSpecify the user role the new user should have. For example, administrator or subscriber. By default, the new user becomes the administrator.
10. Click “Add New User” to add the new user.

 

 

Answers to frequently asked questions

 

How many user roles are there in WordPress?

There are 5 user roles in WordPress: administrator, editor, author, content creator and subscriber. The administrator can do basically everything, such as installing apps and themes. The subscriber, in turn, mostly logs in to the WordPress page.

 

What permissions should a copywriter have?

A copywriter who works for you on your website should usually be at least an author. Then she can, among other things, publish posts and edit other people’s posts. If the copywriter is not so experienced, you can instead make her a content creator, because then she can not publish new posts.

 

This is perfect if you want to be able to proofread her posts before publishing them on the web page.

 

What privileges should a programmer have?

A programmer must have full privileges. As a rule, he must always be an administrator, as he thus gets the right to add new code and install new extensions. If you have a multisite installation, the programmer should be a super user, who has the right to delete and add pages.