Are you tired of having to make small updates and corrections to your contributors‘ WordPress posts after they‘ve already been published? As the site owner or editor, it can be frustrating to be responsible for every minor change or addition to a live post.
Wouldn‘t it be better if your trusted contributors could make those edits themselves, freeing up your time and allowing them to take more ownership of their content?
Good news: it‘s entirely possible to allow contributors to edit their own posts after publication in WordPress. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll show you two methods to enable contributor editing, step-by-step.
But first, let‘s discuss why you might want to allow contributor editing in the first place and what factors you should consider before implementing it on your site.
Why Allow Contributors to Edit Published Posts in WordPress?
There are several scenarios where allowing contributors to edit their own posts can be beneficial:
Updating evergreen content. For posts that are meant to be comprehensive resources on a topic, contributors may need to regularly add new information, examples, or references to keep the content accurate and up-to-date.
Correcting errors and typos. Despite best efforts, mistakes can slip through the cracks. Enabling contributors to fix small errors themselves can save editors time and improve the overall quality of the site.
Responding to reader feedback. If a post receives comments or feedback suggesting improvements, the contributor can address that feedback directly by updating the post.
Encouraging a sense of ownership. When contributors feel they have more control over the long-term success of their content, they may be more motivated to produce high-quality work.
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider:
Reduced editorial control. Allowing contributors to make changes to live posts can make it harder to maintain a consistent standard of quality and style across the site.
Workflow and version control issues. Without clear processes in place, having multiple people making changes to a post can lead to confusion and overwritten work.
Potential for abuse. In rare cases, a contributor could make inappropriate or damaging changes to a published post.
Despite these concerns, many WordPress sites find that the benefits of allowing contributor editing outweigh the risks. The key is to implement clear guidelines and oversight to ensure changes are appropriate and beneficial to readers.
Now, let‘s dive into the two primary methods for enabling contributor editing in WordPress.
Method 1: Adding a Code Snippet to Enable Contributor Editing
The first method involves adding a small piece of code to your WordPress site to grant contributors the "edit_published_posts" capability. Here‘s how it works:
Step 1: Access your theme‘s functions.php file or create a site-specific plugin
You can add the necessary code snippet to your active theme‘s functions.php file or, preferably, create a site-specific plugin to house the code.
To create a new plugin, navigate to the wp-content/plugins directory in your WordPress installation and create a new file with a descriptive name, such as contributor-editing.php.
Open the file in a text editor and add the following PHP header comment at the top:
<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Contributor Editing
Plugin URI: http://yoursite.com
Description: Allow contributors to edit their published posts
Version: 1.0
Author: Your Name
*/Step 2: Add the code snippet to grant contributor editing capability
Below the plugin header, add the following code:
function wpb_allow_contributor_edit_posts() {
$contributor = get_role(‘contributor‘);
$contributor->add_cap(‘edit_published_posts‘);
}
add_action(‘admin_init‘, ‘wpb_allow_contributor_edit_posts‘);Let‘s break down what this code does:
- The
wpb_allow_contributor_edit_posts()function is defined to hold the necessary logic. - Inside the function,
get_role(‘contributor‘)retrieves the contributor role object. $contributor->add_cap(‘edit_published_posts‘)grants the "edit_published_posts" capability to the contributor role.add_action(‘admin_init‘, ‘wpb_allow_contributor_edit_posts‘)hooks the function to WordPress‘admin_initaction, ensuring it runs when the admin area is loaded.
Step 3: Save the file and activate the plugin
If you added the code to your theme‘s functions.php file, simply save your changes and the functionality will be active.
If you created a site-specific plugin, save the contributor-editing.php file and navigate to the Plugins screen in your WordPress admin area. Find the "Contributor Editing" plugin in the list and click "Activate."
That‘s it! Contributors should now see an "Edit" link below their published posts in the WordPress admin area, allowing them to modify the content and update the post.
However, there are a couple of important caveats to keep in mind with this method:
Directly editing your theme‘s functions.php file can be risky, as any mistakes could bring down your entire site. Always make a complete backup before making any code changes.
If you update your theme in the future, any changes made to the functions.php file will be overwritten. Using a child theme or site-specific plugin is safer.
Each time you want to make a change to contributor capabilities, you‘ll need to edit the code and re-save the file. There‘s no user interface for managing role capabilities with this method.
If you‘re not comfortable adding code to your WordPress site or want more granular control over user roles and capabilities, the second method using a plugin may be preferable.
Method 2: Using the PublishPress Capabilities Plugin
PublishPress Capabilities is a free plugin that provides an intuitive user interface for managing WordPress role capabilities. It allows you to easily customize what contributors and other user roles can and cannot do on your site.
Here‘s how to allow contributors to edit their published posts using PublishPress Capabilities:
Step 1: Install and activate the PublishPress Capabilities plugin
In your WordPress admin area, navigate to Plugins > Add New and search for "PublishPress Capabilities."
Click "Install Now" and then "Activate" to enable the plugin on your site.
Step 2: Access the PublishPress Capabilities settings
In the WordPress admin sidebar, hover over the "Capabilities" link that appears and click on "Editor" to access the settings page for editing role capabilities.
Step 3: Locate the contributor role settings
Scroll down the page until you see the "Contributor" role section.
Step 4: Enable the "edit_published_posts" capability for contributors
Click to expand the "Editing" section under the contributor role. Check the box next to "edit_published_posts" to grant contributors the ability to edit their own posts after publication.
Step 5: Save your changes
Click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the screen to apply your new contributor role settings.
With that, contributors will now see an "Edit" link for their published posts in the WordPress admin posts list, allowing them to modify and update their content as needed.
The PublishPress Capabilities plugin provides a lot more flexibility beyond just enabling contributor editing. You can use it to customize the capabilities of other user roles, like authors and editors, as well as create your own custom user roles with specific permissions.
For example, if you wanted to allow contributors to upload images to their posts, you could enable the "upload_files" capability for the contributor role. Or, if you wanted to restrict editors to only be able to edit posts in specific categories, you could use the plugin‘s "Category Restrictions" feature.
The plugin‘s granular control over roles and capabilities makes it a powerful tool for customizing the WordPress publishing experience to fit your site‘s unique needs.
Best Practices for Managing Contributor Editing Permissions
Now that you know how to enable contributor editing on your WordPress site, it‘s important to consider some best practices for managing these permissions effectively.
1. Establish clear editing guidelines for contributors
Before allowing contributors to edit their published posts, set expectations for what types of changes are allowed and encouraged. Some common guidelines might include:
- Minor typo and grammatical corrections
- Updating facts, figures, and examples as new information becomes available
- Adding relevant links and resources to enhance the post‘s value
- Responding to reader comments and feedback with clarifications or additions
Make it clear that substantial changes to the post‘s overall content, structure, or tone should be run by an editor first. Contributors should not make edits that fundamentally change the original intent or focus of the piece.
2. Put a review process in place for significant changes
For any major updates or additions to a published post, consider implementing a review process where contributors submit their changes to an editor for approval before they go live.
This could be as simple as having contributors mark the post as "Pending Review" after making their edits, which triggers a notification to the editorial team.
Alternatively, you could use a plugin like Revisionize to allow contributors to submit suggested revisions without directly modifying the live post. Editors can then compare the changes and publish the new version if approved.
3. Use version control and change tracking
Whenever multiple people are editing the same piece of content, it‘s essential to have version control measures in place to track changes and revert to previous versions if needed.
WordPress has built-in post revisions that allow you to see a history of changes made to a post and restore older versions. However, the interface for comparing revisions can be clunky and may not scale well for sites with a lot of editing activity.
Consider using a plugin like Revisionary to provide a more user-friendly interface for managing post revisions and submissions. It allows contributors to submit revisions that editors can review, compare, and publish from a central dashboard.
4. Provide training and support for contributors
If your contributors are not used to having editing permissions, provide some training and documentation to help them understand the process and expectations.
Consider creating a contributor‘s guide that covers:
- How to access and use the WordPress editor to make changes to published posts
- Guidelines for what types of edits are allowed and encouraged
- The process for submitting major revisions for editorial review
- Best practices for formatting, linking, and optimizing changes for SEO
- How to communicate with editors about suggested changes or issues with a post
The more clarity and support you can provide upfront, the smoother the editing process will be for everyone involved.
5. Regularly audit and adjust contributor permissions
As your site grows and evolves, it‘s important to periodically review your contributor editing permissions to ensure they still align with your editorial strategy and quality standards.
Some questions to ask during these audits:
- Are contributors making appropriate and valuable changes to their posts?
- Is the current review process effective in maintaining quality and accuracy?
- Are there any bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the editing workflow that could be improved with tweaks to permissions or processes?
- Are there any contributors who have consistently demonstrated a higher level of editorial judgment and could be trusted with additional capabilities?
Based on your findings, don‘t be afraid to adjust your contributor editing setup as needed. The beauty of WordPress is that it provides the flexibility to experiment and find what works best for your unique content operation.
Conclusion: Empower Your Contributors to Improve Their Content
Allowing contributors to edit their own posts in WordPress can be a powerful way to improve the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of your site‘s content. By giving trusted contributors the ability to make updates and corrections directly, you can reduce the burden on your editorial team while fostering a greater sense of ownership and pride among your writers.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. It‘s important to implement contributor editing permissions thoughtfully, with clear guidelines, robust review processes, and regular oversight to maintain the integrity of your content.
But when done right, contributor editing can be a win-win for everyone involved. Your writers will appreciate the ability to keep their pieces up-to-date and looking their best, while your editors can focus on higher-level strategy and quality control. Most importantly, your readers will benefit from content that is consistently improving and evolving to meet their needs.
So if you‘ve been hesitant to allow contributors to edit their published posts in the past, we encourage you to give it a try using one of the methods outlined in this guide. With the right setup and safeguards in place, you may be surprised at how much it can elevate your content operation.
Your turn: Have you enabled contributor editing on your WordPress site? What has your experience been? Let us know in the comments below!
){kind=link}