What Each User Role Can See and Do

A quick reference for the standard WordPress roles, from most to least access.

Administrator

Full control: all content, all users, plugins, themes, and site settings. This role is reserved for your site administrators.

Editor

Can create, edit, publish, and delete any post or page – including other users’ content – but cannot change site settings, plugins, or manage users.

Author

Can write, edit, and publish their own posts, and upload media, but cannot touch other users’ content.

Contributor

Can write and edit their own posts, but cannot publish them directly – content is submitted for review instead. Usually cannot upload media directly either.

Subscriber

Can log in and manage their own profile, but has no content editing access at all.

Tip: If you’re regularly asking someone else to publish things on your behalf, it may be worth asking your administrator whether your role should be upgraded.