Comparing Methods To Check User Roles In WordPress

Purpose of User Roles and Capabilities

User roles and capabilities in WordPress allow site administrators to control access to different parts of the site and functionality. Some common roles include administrator, editor, author, contributor and subscriber. Capabilities define what each role is allowed to do.

For example, an administrator role has access to all areas of the site and can perform any action. Editor roles can publish and manage posts but not change site options. Author roles can publish and manage their own posts. Contributor roles can write and manage their posts but cannot publish. Subscribers can only manage their profile.

By checking a user’s role, plugins and themes can determine what the user is allowed to access and see. This allows content to be personalized to the correct user role. For example, restrict access to administration screens or only display edit links for content if the user can actually edit it.

Available Functions for Checking Roles

WordPress includes two key functions specifically for checking user roles and capabilities:

• current_user_can()
• user_can()

These functions allow checking if the current user, or a specified user, has the given role or capability to perform actions.

current_user_can() Function

The current_user_can() function checks if the currently logged in user has the specified capability. This allows you to check if they can perform a given action e.g. edit a page.

It accepts a single capability name or array of capabilities as a parameter. Some common capabilities include:

• edit_posts – allows editing posts
• edit_pages – allows editing pages
• publish_posts
• manage_options – allows admin access

Usage is simple. Just call the function passing the capability name:

<?php
if ( current_user_can('publish_posts') ) {

  // The user can publish posts

}
?>

This checks if the current user is allowed to publish posts, allowing content to be personalized accordingly.

user_can() Function

While current_user_can() checks capabilities against the currently logged in user, the user_can() function allows checking another WordPress user by ID or username.

The user_can() usage format looks like:

<?php 
$user_id = 4;
if ( user_can( $user_id, 'edit_pages' ) ) {
    
  // User can edit pages

}
?>

In this example with user ID 4, their role is checked to confirm if they have the edit_pages capability to determine if they can edit pages.

The user_can() function first parameter accepts a user ID, username or WP_User object. The second parameter is the capability name to check.

This allows selectively showing content for an individual user based on their assigned capabilities and roles.

Comparing current_user_can() and user_can()

The main difference between the two functions is:

• current_user_can() checks against the currently logged in user session
• user_can() checks user role capabilities by a specified user ID

current_user_can()	user_can()
Checks current user capabilities	Checks any specified WordPress user
Useful for general content restrictions	Allows user specific role checks
No parameters required	Requires user ID parameter

In terms of usage, current_user_can() can quickly check if the current visitor has a capability like publishing a post. This works well for general sidebar content and menu restrictions.

The user_can() function allows more granular role checks against any specified WordPress user registered on the site. This is useful for author specific content for showing personalized post links that align with their role.

When to Use Each Function

So when should you use each function?

Use current_user_can() When:

• Checking permissions for sidebar widgets and menus – simplifies logic for common UI personalized for user roles
• Restricting theme or plugin areas to only administrators
• Showing post type edit links for the current user depending on capabilities

Use user_can() When:

• You want to check capabilities for a specific user other than current visitor
• Building user profile and listing pages with role based links
• Displaying personalized content based on granular user roles across the site

The functions provide complementary ways to confirm user capabilities. current_user_can() works well for global frontend content adjustments. user_can() allows tailored content personalized to individual authors.

Plugins for Managing User Roles

Managing user roles and capabilities across a large WordPress site can quickly become complex. Thankfully there are dedicated plugins available to help streamline user permission configuration.

These plugins extend the available user roles allowing creation of customized capabilities. Some even provide user role editor screens for administrators to easily allocate permissions.

Example Plugins for Role Management

Some of the most popular and robust user role plugins include:

• User Role Editor – allows admins to edit default WordPress roles and add custom roles from admin dashboard
• Capability Manager Enhanced – granular management of individual capabilities for custom roles
• Members – extend and manage WordPress user roles, capabilities and permissions

As an example, the User Role Editor plugin has editable roles for Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor and Subscriber users. There are also settings for custom post types, taxonomies and other plugins.

Advanced custom roles can be added if necessary, along with users moved between them. Permissions are allocated using checkboxes to easily indicate each capability.

Best Practices for Checking Roles

When checking user roles and capabilities, ensure:

• Only allocate required capabilities for each user role
• Use current_user_can() when possible instead of querying user metadata which has more overhead
• For 3rd party plugins, try available hooks before altering core code – maintain compatibility during updates
• Test that restricted content is correctly hidden from non-permitted user roles
• Document which user roles and capabilities are required for various site sections as they are added

Following these tips will help keep user permissions lean and optimized. Plan role requirements ahead of time before site growth occurs. Audit existing roles periodically to check for unused assigned capabilities.

Build a centralized list of capabilities required for new plugins and themes. Test accessibility by logged out visitors and each user role when introducing restricted UI elements.

Summary

WordPress user roles and capabilities provide powerful control over what users can access across site.

Key functions like current_user_can() and user_can() check permissions for displaying personalized content to align with user roles.

Plugins extend default User roles for advanced permission configuration. Follow best practices to allocate minimum required capabilities and test with different user levels.

Leveraging these tools and techniques ensures a site with properly restricted content aligned to user roles and capabilities for administrators, editors, authors and subscribers.