WordPress is a very popular CMS. It is the first choice of a number of organizations all around the globe. Large teams with numerous members work on it simultaneously. As multiple people are using this CMS at the same time, there are a number of default user roles defined for each user to give everyone access, privileges, and permissions according to their own responsibilities in the organization.
In this article, we look into all the six default WordPress user roles and permissions granted to each. You can also define custom user roles in WordPress but for simplicity in this article, we shall stick to the default user types only.
Default WordPress User Roles
These are the six main user roles available with WordPress.
- Administrator
- Editor
- Author
- Moderator
- Subscriber
- Super Admin
Now let us look into the details of each of these.
Administrator
- Function: Administrators have full control over a WordPress site. They can create, edit, and delete posts and pages, manage plugins and themes, modify the website’s settings, and add or remove users.
- Permissions: Administrators can access all features and settings in the WordPress dashboard, including user management and site customization.
- Limitations: Administrators have no inherent limitations. They can perform any action on the site, making this role the most powerful and should be assigned sparingly to trusted individuals.
Editor
- Function: Editors can create, edit, publish, and delete their own and other users’ posts and pages. They oversee content quality and can moderate comments.
- Permissions: Editors can manage and publish content but do not have access to settings or the ability to install plugins or themes.
- Limitations: Editors have control over content but cannot make significant changes to the site’s structure or settings.
Author
- Function: Authors can create, edit, publish, and delete their own posts. They are responsible for generating content.
- Permissions: Authors have limited access to their own content but cannot edit or delete content created by others. They can’t access site settings, plugins, or themes.
- Limitations: Authors focus on content creation and have limited control over the overall site.
Contributor
- Function: Contributors can create and edit their own posts but cannot publish them. They can submit their work for review by an editor or administrator.
- Permissions: Contributors have access to a limited set of functions, mainly focused on content creation and editing.
- Limitations: Contributors cannot publish content independently or make changes to others’ content.
Subscriber
- Function: Subscribers can log in to the site and manage their user profile. They can also leave comments on posts (if comments are enabled).
- Permissions: Subscribers have minimal access, primarily for user profile management and engagement through comments.
- Limitations: Subscribers cannot create or edit content, access the dashboard, or modify
Super Admin (For WordPress Multisite)
- Function: Super Admins have full control over a WordPress Multisite network. They can create and manage individual sites within the network, install themes and plugins, and assign user roles.
- Permissions: Super Admins can access the network dashboard and oversee all sites and users within the network.
- Limitations: Super Admins are exclusive to WordPress Multisite installations and do not exist in standard single-site WordPress setups.