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Understanding WordPress Subscriber Roles

In the WordPress platform, a ‘Subscriber’ is a specific type of user with restricted privileges. These individuals have the capability to sign into your site but are limited in their actions once logged in.

As your WordPress site expands, it’s crucial to grasp the various user roles available, as they determine the permissions and actions users can perform on your site.

When you want users to have access to your site for activities like viewing exclusive content or purchasing goods and services, but you don’t want them to have the ability to modify the site, the subscriber role is the ideal choice.

Understanding the Subscriber Role

There are numerous methods for individuals to follow your content, such as subscribing to your RSS feed, email newsletter, YouTube channel, or social media profiles. However, these are not to be confused with the subscriber role in WordPress.

A WordPress user is someone who has registered on your site and can access it with a username and password. WordPress offers five default user roles, each with specific capabilities.

Subscribers are users who can log into your site but are restricted from making any changes. They can update their profiles and passwords but cannot create content, alter settings, or access the WordPress admin area for other tasks.

This role is especially useful for sites that offer memberships, operate online stores, or allow user registration for other purposes.

Enabling Subscriber Registrations

WordPress has built-in features to manage user registrations, which are disabled by default but can be activated with ease.

Activating User Sign-Ups

To allow user registration on your site, navigate to the Settings » General page in your WordPress dashboard. In the ‘Membership’ section, tick the ‘Anyone can register’ checkbox.

Next, you’ll need to set the default user role for new registrants. It’s important to understand the permissions associated with each role, so refer to our guide on WordPress user roles and permissions for more information.

Ensure the default role is set to ‘Subscriber’ before saving your changes.

Providing Login Access

With registration enabled, you must now provide a way for users to log in. A simple method is to add the ‘Meta’ widget to your sidebar, which includes links for registration and login.

For a more professional appearance and additional options, consider creating a custom login page. WPForms, a leading WordPress contact form plugin, offers a user registration add-on to help you create custom login and registration forms.

Monitoring Your Subscribers

After opening your site to user registrations, it’s important to keep track of your subscribers. You can view all registered users by accessing the Users » All Users page in your WordPress dashboard and selecting the ‘Subscriber’ filter.

Engaging Your Subscriber Base

It’s important to note that WordPress subscribers are not the same as email newsletter subscribers. They won’t automatically receive your articles via email.

Many site owners add a newsletter signup form to their sidebar, but to truly grow your subscriber list, you might want to use OptinMonster. This tool helps convert visitors into email subscribers with eye-catching opt-in forms.

For more tips on increasing your email subscriber count, check out our list of proven strategies.

We trust this guide has enhanced your understanding of the subscriber role in WordPress. For further insights, explore our additional resources below.

Further Insights