Giving someone access to your website’s backend is a big deal. This lesson shows you how to add and remove users safely and responsibly.
⚠️ A Word of Caution Before You Begin
🛑 Only give access to people you fully trust.
🛠 Limit access by choosing the right role for the right person.
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Remove users who’ve left your organization
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Delete your designer or developer’s access when their work is complete
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Always know who has access — and what they can do
👥 What Are Website Users?
Users are people who can log in to your WordPress dashboard and perform certain actions based on their assigned role (e.g., write posts, edit pages, manage settings, etc.).
🛠️ How to Add a New User
✅ Step 1: Go to Users > Add New
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In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Users
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Click Add New
✅ Step 2: Fill in the User’s Details
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Username – A unique identifier
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Email – Their working email
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First and Last Name – Optional but helpful
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Password – Click Generate Password
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You can share the password manually
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Send User Notification – Check this if you want them to get a login email
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Role – 🔥 This is the most critical part. See below.
🧰 User Roles Explained
Think of user roles like job titles in a media company:
| Role | What They Can Do | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Full access: manage settings, users, plugins, themes, content | Website owner or lead developer |
| Editor | Edit any page/post, including others’ work | Content manager or comms team |
| Author | Write and publish own blog posts only | Internal staff blogger |
| Contributor | Write posts, but can’t publish | Guest writer or intern |
| Subscriber | Only manage their profile | Newsletter subscriber |
🔐 Be very cautious when assigning the Administrator role — it gives full control over your website.
👋 How to Remove a User
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Go to Users > All Users
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Hover over the user you want to remove
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Click Delete
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If prompted, assign their content to another user or delete it entirely
✂️ This is useful when an employee leaves or when a contractor is done with their job.
✅ Best Practices
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Always have at least one Administrator
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Don’t keep unused accounts around
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Avoid giving Administrator access unless absolutely necessary
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Regularly audit user roles and access
💡 Example Scenarios
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If you’re hiring someone to only manage blog posts → assign them the Editor role
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If your designer/developer just finished building your site → delete or downgrade their role
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If a former staff member still shows in your users list → remove them immediately
✅ Recap: Steps to Add a User Safely
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Navigate to Users > Add New
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Fill in their details
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Choose the appropriate role
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Click Add User
✅ Done! You’ve added a new user to your site — safely and intentionally.
🧯 Final Advice
🎯 Your website is like your digital office — only hand out keys to the right people, and always know how to take them back.