Hi, in this lesson we are going to explore user management.
In WordPress you can assign roles which was designed to give the site owner the ability
to control what users can and cannot do within the site.
There are different roles to explore and each role is allowed to perform a set of tasks.
Knowing the differences is important as it will help you keep your site protected and
ensure that your editors and contributors are informed about their abilities and the
part that they play.
In this video we will explain five roles and their capabilities and explore what the dashboard
looks like from the perspective of each role.
The five main roles you can assign are the administrator, editor, author, contributor
and subscriber.
Let's start with the administrator.
Upon installing WordPress an administrator role is automatically created and it is
somebody who has access to all the administration features within a single site.
For multi-site owners the super admin has these capabilities.
Next we have the editor.
The editor is somebody who can publish and manage posts including the posts of other
users.
An author on the other hand is somebody who can only publish and manage their own posts.
Then we move on to a contributor.
This is somebody who can write and manage their own posts but cannot publish them.
And lastly a subscriber is somebody who can only manage their profile and it is usually
made for subscription type websites.
The administrator is at the top of the WordPress ladder and there is usually only one per website.
As mentioned the administrator is somebody who has access to all the administration features
within a single site.
The administrator can publish, edit and delete posts and pages, edit code, they can manage
media, plugins, themes, other accounts and settings.
They basically have the keys to all the doors of the site.
The administrator can update their profile top right of their dashboard page or by making
their way to Users, clicking on profile and making the necessary updates there.
The administrator also has the power to create and manage other users.
To create a new user click on Add new.
On the Add new user page create a new user by assigning them a username, a valid email
address and any other optional details.
In the next section choose an appropriate role for this user.
And when you are ready click Add new user.
A new user will automatically be sent a welcome email by WordPress with their new logging
information including the generated password.
The user will be prompted to login and to change their password to one of their liking.
To change the role of an existing user you can select Edit, open the role drop down and
select a different role or no role for the site at all.
If you would like to change the role of multiple users you can use the check boxes to the left
of the user to make the changes simultaneously.
If you delete a user you have the option to delete all the content they have created or
to reassign it to a different user.
And once you have made your choice click on Confirm deletion.
To customize the view of the users table click on Screen options top right.
Yeah you can specify which columns you would like to view and the number of users you want
to view per page.
And once you are done click apply.
Editors have high level of access as they usually manage content.
Let's see what the dashboard looks like for an editor.
An editor is someone who can create, edit, publish and delete posts and pages including
the posts of other users.
They are also capable of managing media and comments.
So what can't they do?
Editors cannot install themes, plugins or approve any updates.
They also don't have access to any site settings.
Their role is to manage the work of other users and contributors.
The role of an author is in the name, their role is to provide content to the site and
nothing else.
They are therefore only able to publish and manage their own posts and not those of others.
As you will notice they can upload media and create, edit, publish and delete their own
posts.
Authors are therefore only in charge of adding content to a site and don't have any administrative
rights.
Let's say you have somebody who is willing to contribute content to your site as a once
off.
While in the role of contributor is perfect for that individual.
Seeing that they are not one of the authors, they will only be able to write and manage
their posts but cannot publish them.
A contributor cannot upload media files and when they publish content, it will first be
reviewed before publishing.
As you will notice it is almost the same as being an author but with a few more limitations.
The last role we will be looking at is the subscriber.
Subscribers only have access to managing their own profiles and nothing else.
If we are into the dashboard of a subscriber, we will see they can only read all the posts
on the site and change their profiles.
This is not a role that will be used on many sites, mostly subscription based websites.
And finally you may also decide to search and install a user role plugin to extend this
feature's functionality.
All the best managing the various user roles you wish to assign.