What are the differences between the five site access levels?

Guests have the ability to view and interact with any area of the site where the content access level is set to Guest.  Registered users on Guest level may also post to discussion boards (if applicable) and make comments on syndication items (if applicable) which have the appropriate access levels set to Guest.  Whereas site visitors (guests) who are not registered users may not do these things.

 

Members have the ability to view and interact with any area of the site where the content access level is set to Member or lower.  If you are using the Community Builder feature, you may have members who can edit the site due to the fact that they have been given editing permissions through one or more groups.

 

Contributors have the ability to interact with and edit any area of the site where the content access level is set to Contributor or lower.  When a site contributor logs into the Control Panel, they are only able to see the Pages manager but they cannot edit the home page.  To give a contributor access to other managers, you can add them to the Coordinators tab of the appropriate manager.

 

Contributors can add pages and can add files and folders to the My Files area but they cannot delete any whole page or item from the site.  When a Contributor opens a page in the site, they only see the Page Title and a Memo field, they do not have access to any of the tabs across the top of the page (that an Editor or Administrator would normally see) and they cannot change the start/end dates, access levels, search info, or design option for the page.

 

Any page changes or additions must be approved by a user with editor or administrator access.  The changes are held on the Pages Pending tab of the Pages manager. 

 

Editors have the ability to interact with and edit any area of the site where the content access level is set to Editor or lower.  When a site editor logs into the Control Panel, they are able to see the Pages, Panels, Albums, Events, Resources, Syndication, Polls, Discussions, Communications, and Media managers (depending on which hosting package you have).  Editors cannot edit the home page, but they can add panels to the home page through the Panels manager.  To give an editor access to other managers, you can add them to the Coordinators tab of the appropriate manager.

 

Editors can add items to and delete items from the site and My Files without approval.  Editors can approve changes made by Contributors.  Editors can not make changes to the website or email accounts.

 

Administrators have the ability to interact with and edit all areas of the site.  Administrators are treated as the highest authority for the site when contacting customer support.  Administrators can make changes to the website and email accounts.  This designation should be used sparingly.