Differences in User Group Permissions in the WordPress System

WordPress defaults to having 5 user groups: Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber. So what are the differences in their permissions? This article introducesDifferences in User Group Permissions in the WordPress System。

Capability	Super Administrator (only available in multisite)	Administrator	Editor	Author	Contributor	Subscriber
Read posts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Post comments	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Delete, edit posts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	–
Create, delete drafts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	–
Delete published posts	✔	✔	✔	✔	–	–
Publish, edit posts	✔	✔	✔	✔	–	–
Edit pages	✔	✔	✔	–	–	–
Add, delete pages	✔	✔	✔	–	–	–
Add, delete plugins	✔	✔	–	–	–	–
Add, delete themes	✔	✔	–	–	–	–
Create, delete, edit users	✔	✔	–	–	–	–
Edit dashboard	✔	✔	–	–	–	–
Set up, manage, upgrade network	✔	–	–	–	–	–
Manage websites	✔	–	–	–	–	–
Create, delete websites	✔	–	–	–	–	–

The differences between each user group can be seen from the table above. The detailed permissions for these user groups are as follows:Super AdministratorThis user group only exists when multisite mode is enabled. Its permissions are as follows:

• Create and delete websites from the WordPress multisite network.
• Manage access for all users on all sites within the network.
• Set up, manage, and upgrade WordPress for the entire network.
• Add, delete, and manage plugins.
• Upload themes for all websites.
• Add and delete users across the entire network.

Administrator, webuilding your own websiteThe administrator account created afterwards has full permissions for the website and is responsible for tasks such asInstall WordPress，WordPress Themes, WordPress plugins, installing SSL certificates, etc. Some functions of the Admin are as follows:

• Add, delete, edit, and create content.
• Create and delete users.
• Add and delete plugins.
• Add and delete themes.
• Change existing user information, such as passwords.
• Edit the dashboard.
• Customize and delete the site.
• Import and export content.

Edit, with permissions second only to the administrator. Editor users cannot perform operations related to website themes, installing plugins, etc. However, editors can perform any operation on content. Editors can perform the following operations:

• Delete and edit pages.
• Publish pages.
• Delete and edit private pages.
• Delete other people's pages.
• Edit and delete posts.
• Delete published pages.
• Delete other people's posts.
• Publish posts.
• Delete published posts.
• Manage categories and links.

Author, with slightly less permission than an editor, is a user who can create, edit, delete, and publish their own content.

• Authors can edit their own posts.
• Publish their own posts.
• Edit their own published posts.
• Delete their own posts.
• Delete their own published posts.
• Upload files.

Contributors, similar to writers for the website, they can edit posts but cannot publish them on their own; they require administrator review before publication.

• View all posts from other users.
• Create and edit their own posts.
• Delete their own posts.

Subscribers, are ordinary visitors who have their own account on your website but possess no substantial permissions.

• Subscribers can only read posts.

In addition to the default user groups provided by the system, you can also create custom user groups. If you wish to define custom user groups, you can achieve this with the help of this plugin. Setting up different user groups can be helpful during website operation. Naibabiji also shares some plugins related to user permissions; you can check if there is a need.

• Method to make a WordPress website accessible only to registered and logged-in members
• Plugin to Record WordPress User Login History: User Login History