• Understanding user roles
• Adding a user
• Removing a user
• Updating user permissions
• Troubleshooting/tips

Understanding user roles

WordPress maintains documentation on user roles on their website.

• WP.org user role documentation

Below are the roles available within a WordPress UW Theme site, and their abilities.

• Administrator
  • This role gives you the most control over your site, as it allows you to change all site-wide settings, edit plugin content, and add or remove users to your site.
    
    
• Primary Contact
  • The same exact abilities of an Administrator
  • Used to show who the primary contact(s) for the site should be. This is who WiscWeb staff will contact if there is a question about the site. 
  • We request you designate at least one person as the Primary Contact for the site
    
    
• Editor
  • This role allows users to create, edit, delete, and publish content within your site. They do not have the ability to change certain site-wide settings and have limited ability to use plugins as well. Editors cannot add or remove users from a site.
    
    
• Author
  • This role allows users to write, edit, and publish their own posts, as well as delete their own posts, even if they are published. When writing posts, Authors cannot create categories however they can choose from existing categories. An Author cannot view or edit pages, and they have no access to plugins within a site.
    
    
• Contributor
  • This role allows a user to create and edit their own posts, however they do not have the ability to publish. When a new post is created by a Contributor, they have an option to "Submit for Review," which will put the post in a state of Pending Review. An Administrator would then have a "Pending" option in their Posts list, and can then publish the post.
  • Contributors cannot view or edit pages, have no access to plugins within the site, and also have no access to the Media Library.
    
    
• Subscriber
  • This role allows users to log in to a site and make updates to their own profile, but cannot access any other elements within your site.

What each access role can do

The following table breaks down the rights awarded to each role in WiscWeb. The first row is the types of roles (starting with Administrator). The first column describes the types of things that role may be able to do. The 'x' denotes actions that the specific role can do.

Adding a user

If you are an Administrator in WiscWeb, you can use the following steps to add a new user:

1. Access the Dashboard for your site
2. Hover your mouse over the Users section and then click on Add by NetID
   • Do not use the Add New option, Add by NetID is more accurate
     

     

3. In the next screen, enter the user's NetID value and choose which user role you want to assign to them. Once you have that in, click Add User.
   • Only add the user's NetID value (for example, bbadger). Be sure not to add any additional information (such as bbadger@wisc.edu).
     

     

4. Once the user is added, you will be brought back to your full users list. Note that the new user may be added with limited information initially, but this will automatically update when the user logs in for the first time.
   
   
   
   
5. The user will need to log in by navigating to https://wiscweb.wisc.edu/wp-admin and authenticating with their username and password. After they've signed in, they will see your site in the "My Sites" list in the upper left of the screen.

Removing a user

Please use the following steps to remove a user from your site:

1. Within the Users list, hover the mouse over the user you want to remove
2. Select Remove
   
   
   
   
3. Click on Confirm Removal
   
   
   
   
4. Access your user list to make sure user no longer appears in the list

Updating user permissions

Please use the following steps to update a user's permissions:

1. Access the Dashboard for your site
2. Click on Users to access your list of users
3. Select the User you wish to update by checking the box next to their name
4. Click on the arrows in the Box that says "Change role to..."
5. Select the role for this user
6. Click Change

Troubleshooting

• Only Administrators can add new users to a project.
  
  
• Those who wish to edit WiscWeb sites must have a valid NetID, and either be on the campus network or be logged into the WiscVPN. Since MFA Duo is required for WiscVPN, the user would also need to have Duo access.
  
  
• If the user has changed their name, their NetID (and preferred email address) has likely also changed. You may need to add the NetID to the project as a new user, even if the old NetID is still listed in the project.  Please note that if you delete their old NetID account from the project, you will be asked to reassign their content (like pages and posts) or else it will be lost. It is suggested that you add their new NetID to the site first, then delete the old one, so that you can reassign their content to the new NetID.
  
  
• Administrators should check to make sure they did not add a user by using NetID@wisc.edu; this can be verified by going to the Users list and verifying that only NetIDs are visible in the user list. If a user was added with NetID@wisc.edu, they should be removed and re-added using only their NetID value.