Hi @xoyozo ,
Thanks for reaching out!
If I have a standard WordPress instance and additionally installed the plugin WooCommerce (no further plugins or custom code snippets), is the role “Shop manager” able to edit users by default (Users -> All Users -> Edit)?
By default, the Shop Manager role in WooCommerce doesn’t have permission to edit other users in WordPress — they won’t be able to go to Users → All Users or edit profiles like an Administrator can. The Shop Manager role is mostly focused on managing store-related tasks like orders, products, and reports, but not broader site management like user roles.
If you’d like a Shop Manager to have access to user editing, you’ll need to manually grant that permission. One easy way to do that is by using a plugin like User Role Editor. It lets you adjust roles and capabilities right from your dashboard — no coding needed.
Please note that our support is limited to the core WooCommerce plugin, and we’re unable to assist with modifications involving custom code or third-party plugins.
For more advanced customizations, I’d recommend reaching out to Codeable or a Certified WooExpert, who can help tailor the solution to your site.
I hope this helps!
Thread Starter
Xoyozo
(@xoyozo)
Hi @jonayedhosen,
yes, thank you very much. Your explanations are indeed very helpful! I was essentially looking for a reliable statement on the Shop Manager permissions in the default.
I am a friend of keeping things lightweight and simple, especially given that I simply won’t have any changes to the roles and their permissions in the next few years. And User Role Editor is not exactly lightweight and there are also some (serious) bugs [see: User Role Editor Reviews].
And thank you for your links, but I think I can manage the “advanced customizations” on my own. I just program a one-time function or a mini plugin as a lightweight solution. – Therefore it would be helpful if you could refer me to the WooCommerce documentation where I can read about the individual capabilities and the differences between them, such as:
[…]
$role = get_role('shop_manager');
[…]
$role->add_cap('edit_users'); <-in difference to-> $role->add_cap('edit_user');
$role->remove_cap('edit_users'); <-in difference to-> $role->remove_cap('edit_user');
[…]
Thanks in advance.
Hi @xoyozo,
Thank you for your thoughtful response — I completely understand your preference for a lightweight setup and avoiding bulkier plugins like User Role Editor, especially since you mentioned your roles and permissions are unlikely to change anytime soon.
To address your question, the difference between these two capabilities is quite nuanced:
- edit_users gives permission to access and manage the full user list in the WordPress admin, including editing other users.
- edit_user is more specific and typically used in cases where a user can edit a particular user’s profile, but it doesn’t grant general user management access on its own.
In most cases, WordPress and WooCommerce check for the plural form of the capability (edit_users, delete_users, etc.) when determining access in the admin area. So if your goal is to control user management access, that’s the one you’ll want to work with.
For a deeper understanding of how WordPress handles roles and capabilities, you can refer to this documentation:
https://ww.wp.xz.cn/documentation/article/roles-and-capabilities/
Thread Starter
Xoyozo
(@xoyozo)
Hi @mosesmedh,
thank you very much for your explanations and hints. This is very helpful and exactly what I needed!
Many thanks again.
Hi @xoyozo,
Thanks for your response, and I’m glad I could help. If you found the assistance useful and it resolved your issue, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review here: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/support/plugin/woocommerce/reviews/#new-post
