What is the role of Contributor in WordPress ?

Last Updated : 20 May, 2024

The role of Contributor in WordPress is important for anyone managing a WordPress site. Contributors play a key part in creating content without having the ability to publish it. Owning a content-filled website has its own plus effects. It builds reliability among the audience and serves as a great way to engage with them. But creating and publishing content consistently is a rigorous job. This task is better performed when given to a person with limited power and necessary authority. This is where the role of the contributor comes in. WordPress commonly provides this feature with plugins to give access to a person as a contributor with necessary roles.

This role is ideal for sites with multiple authors, where content needs to be reviewed before going live. In this article, we will explore the WordPress Contributor role, its capabilities, and how it fits into your website’s workflow.

Who is a contributor in WordPress?

Contributor in WordPress means a user who can create and edit their posts but cannot publish them. Contributors can submit their content for review, allowing an editor or administrator to approve and publish it. A contributor is a means of giving access to a person who wants to contribute to the content on a website and usually receives credit for the work in return. The credit can be in monetary form or simply displaying tin he contribution credit on the content for public view. This helps in motivating the readers to even write on the website and create a brand for themselves.

There are many other roles above contributor on WordPress, some of them are:

Administrator: Commonly known as admin, is the main user of the WordPress site. S/he has all the power to control the website as well as grant access to other users.
Editor: The editor's role is to handle the burden of the admin with similar powers as of admin. The editor cannot give access to other users.
Author: The author is responsible for creating and publishing the content on the website. The role is restricted to their own posts.

These roles are seniors to the contributor in WordPress setup. The contributor’s role is similar to the author’s except the contributor cannot publish the content. The content submitted by the contributor is subjected to prior review by the author or the admin.

What is the role of a Contributor in WordPress?

Taking a reference from contributor’s power, WordPress restricts many features on the dashboard. Only a few are available, such as:

Read other user’s posts
Write comments on other’s posts
Write, edit and delete their own posts

Once the post is submitted for review, it gets published on the website after approval. The review is done on some predefined criteria like quality, structure, plagiarism, and so on. After the content gets published, the contributor can edit it again and submit it for review. This ensures the reliability of the content under admin control.

In WordPress a contributor has which of the following capabilities?

In WordPress, a Contributor has specific capabilities that allow them to contribute content to the website without having full control over publishing. This section will explain the main capabilities of a Contributor, so you can understand what they can and cannot do.

Write and Edit Posts: Contributors can write and edit their own posts. They have access to the WordPress editor and can create content, add images, and format text.
Submit Posts for Review: Once a Contributor has finished writing a post, they can submit it for review. This means the post will be sent to an Editor or Administrator for approval before it is published.
View Their Own Posts: Contributors can view a list of their own posts, including drafts and pending posts. They cannot see posts written by other users.
Edit Profile: Contributors can edit their own profile information. This includes updating their display name, contact information, and profile picture.
No Publishing Rights: Contributors do not have the ability to publish posts. Only Editors and Administrators can publish content that Contributors have written.
No Media Uploading: Contributors cannot upload media files, such as images or videos, directly to the media library. They can, however, include images by using URLs from other sources.

How to give Contributor access to WordPress?

WordPress has the invite feature to give access to any user role. Admin can do so by typing email address/username. Then share the access credentials with the intended person. Here, are the steps to invite contributors to WordPress.

Step 1: Have a WordPress dashboard in front and hover the 'User' tab in the left panel. Click on 'Add New' to proceed further.

Step 2: A window will appear showing clear instructions on how to invite a person for any of the user's roles. One of them is 'Contributor'. Type the email of the person you intend to designate the contributor's role. You can even invite multiple people simultaneously.

Step 3: After typing the email id and selecting the role, click the 'Send invitation' button.

Once the invite receiver input the assigned username and password, s/he can access the dashboard. Hence, all set to get on the work now!

Offering a contributor access to the website helps in engaging a large audience who wants to share their knowledge and thought on the subject concerned. This gives a boost to website traffic as well as helps in creating an active community of avid readers and writers.

Conclusion

The contributor role in WordPress is vital for websites that want to involve multiple users in content creation. Contributors can write and edit their posts, but they cannot publish them without approval. This ensures that all content goes through a review process, maintaining the quality of the site. By allowing users to create content without giving them full control, the contributor role in WordPress helps to protect the site from mistakes or harmful changes. This role is perfect for beginner writers who want to share their ideas and improve their skills while still having their work reviewed by more experienced editors. Overall, the contributor role in WordPress is a great way to engage more users in content creation, ensuring a diverse range of high-quality content.