What is an Author (User Role) in WordPress?

Each user role in WordPress is allowed to perform a specific set of actions, called capabilities. The Author role was designed for regular writers who work primarily with blog posts. In the role hierarchy, it sits in the middle: above Subscriber and Contributor, below Editor and Administrator.

What an Author can do

Authors can write, edit, publish, and delete their own blog posts, including posts that are already live, and upload media files such as images to them. The boundary is ownership: an Author can't touch content written by anyone else. WordPress.org's roles and capabilities documentation sums the role up as “somebody who can publish and manage their own posts.”

Authors can also create, edit, and use their own synced patterns, the feature WordPress 6.3 renamed from “reusable blocks” in August 2023. Patterns are useful for content elements you repeat across posts, such as author bios or calls to action.

What an Author can't do

The role stops at its own content. Authors can't:

• Edit, delete, or publish other users' posts
• Create or edit pages
• Moderate comments
• Create new categories (Authors can only assign existing ones to their posts)
• Install plugins or themes, or change site settings

If someone needs any of those, they need the Editor or Administrator role instead.

Author vs. Contributor vs. Editor

The three writing-focused roles differ in publishing rights and reach:

• Contributor: writes and manages their own posts but can't publish them or upload files. Every draft waits for approval.
• Author: publishes and manages their own posts and can upload media. No access to anyone else's content.
• Editor: publishes and manages posts and pages, including other users' content, and moderates comments.

For a walkthrough of all six default roles and how to customize them, see our guide, The Ultimate Guide to WordPress User Roles.

When to assign the Author role

Use Author for trusted, regular writers whose work can go live without review. That's the consequence to weigh: an Author's post publishes immediately, with no approval step. Use Contributor when every draft should be checked first, since Contributors can't publish. Use Editor only when someone has to manage content they didn't write. When in doubt, start lower. Promoting a user later takes seconds.

How to make someone an Author

Go to Users → All Users in your WordPress dashboard, check the box next to the account, pick Author in the “Change role to…” dropdown, and click Change. You can also set the role on the user's profile page, or choose it when you add a new user. The default role for brand-new accounts lives under Settings → General.