Learn how to create user accounts, assign roles, manage permissions, and control who can access different features of your WordPress website.
A WordPress user is a person who has an account on your website. Depending on their assigned role, users can perform different tasks, such as reading content, writing posts, managing articles, or administering the website.
Administrator: Manages the entire website.
Editor: Reviews and publishes articles.
Author: Writes and publishes their own posts.
Contributor: Writes posts for review.
Subscriber: Has basic account access.
A user role is a collection of permissions that determines what a user can do on a WordPress website. WordPress provides several built-in roles.
These permissions are often called capabilities. For example, a capability may allow a user to publish posts, manage plugins, or edit other users' content.
An Administrator has broad control over a WordPress site. Depending on the installation, this role can manage users, themes, plugins, settings, and website content.
Example: The person responsible for managing the entire website.
An Editor can generally manage and publish posts, including posts written by other users. Editors can also manage categories, tags, and comments.
Example: A content manager who reviews articles written by multiple authors.
An Author can generally write, edit, publish, and delete their own posts. The default role does not grant the same control over other users' posts as the Editor role.
Example: A teacher who publishes their own tutorials on a website.
A Contributor can generally write and edit their own unpublished posts, but cannot publish posts themselves using the default role permissions.
Example: A student or guest writer submitting an article for review.
A Subscriber has basic account permissions. This role is suitable when users need to log in but do not need publishing or administrative access.
Example: A registered reader on a website that supports user accounts.
Super Admin is a role used in WordPress Multisite installations. It can manage network-wide settings, sites, and users according to the network configuration.
Example: The person managing a network of several WordPress websites.
| Role | Write Posts | Publish Posts | Manage Other Users' Posts | Manage Site Settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, not generally |
| Author | Yes | Own posts | No, not by default | No |
| Contributor | Yes | No | No, not by default | No |
| Subscriber | No, not by default | No | No | No |
| Super Admin | Yes, subject to site access | Yes, subject to site access | Broad network permissions | Network-wide |
Note: This table summarizes default capabilities. Plugins, custom roles, and site configuration can change permissions.
Follow these steps to create a WordPress user account:
Username: teacher01
Email: teacher@example.com
Role: Author
This account can generally publish its own posts without receiving full website administration permissions.
You can edit a user's profile when you have the required permissions.
Depending on the user's permissions, you may be able to change:
Assign only the permissions required for the user's work. A person who only writes articles usually does not need Administrator access.
To remove a user account:
User permissions determine which actions a user can perform. WordPress uses capabilities to control access to administrative functions and content management tasks.
| Capability Example | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Edit Posts | Allows editing posts within the user's permissions. |
| Publish Posts | Allows publishing posts when the capability applies. |
| Moderate Comments | Allows managing comments. |
| Manage Options | Allows access to certain site settings. |
| Install Plugins | Allows installing plugins where permitted. |
WordPress can allow visitors to register accounts on a website. This feature should be enabled only when it is needed.
Note: Perform these steps on a test website when possible.
Select the correct answer for each question.