WordPress user roles are a set of pre-defined roles and capabilities that determine what a user can and cannot do on a WordPress site. WordPress user roles are an important concept because they allow you to control who can access and perform certain actions on your site, and they help to ensure that your site is secure and well-managed.
WordPress user roles are hierarchical, which means that each user role can have a set of capabilities that is a subset of the capabilities of the next highest user role. For example, the Administrator user role has the most capabilities and can perform any action on the site, while the Subscriber user role has the fewest capabilities and can only perform a limited set of actions.
The default WordPress user roles are as follows:
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Administrator: The Administrator user role has the highest level of capabilities and can perform any action on the site, including managing users, installing plugins, and modifying the site's settings and appearance.
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Editor: The Editor user role can manage and publish posts and pages, as well as manage categories, tags, and other post-related features. Editors can also moderate comments and manage users with lower user roles.
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Author: The Author user role can publish and manage their own posts, but they cannot manage other users or modify the site's settings and appearance.
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Contributor: The Contributor user role can write and manage their own posts, but they cannot publish them. Their posts need to be reviewed and published by an editor or administrator.
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Subscriber: The Subscriber user role has the fewest capabilities and can only manage their own profile and read posts on the site.
By assigning the appropriate user roles to your site's users, you can control who can perform certain actions on your site, and you can ensure that your site is well-managed and secure. It is important to understand and use WordPress user roles to effectively manage your site and its users.