User accounts and roles

On this page:

• user accounts
• new users
• user roles
• permissions by role

Anyone working on a Berkeley Web Builder site will need to have a user account with a role in order to log in (via CalNet/cas) and access the site and platform tools. The platform comes with 5 user roles with different levels of permissions: Site Manager, Site Builder, Editor, Contributor, and Member. Only the Site Manager role can modify user roles on user accounts. 

This page contains details about user accounts and the available editing roles on Berkeley Web Builder sites. See the Site Manager page for instructions on how to modify roles on user accounts.

User accounts

You will need a CalNet ID in order to have a user account on a Berkeley Web Builder site. If you need to grant access to people who are otherwise affiliated with the campus (contractors, consultants, collaborators, guests, etc.), please see CalNet Guest and Affiliate Accounts. See the Login and access page for information on how to log in to a Berkeley Web Builder site.

All of the user accounts on any Berkeley Web Builder site can be found in the "Site administration" section of the user dashboard (/dashboard/admin/users). The user accounts are organized in a filterable/searchable table with the user account Name, Role, and Created (date). If a corresponding cell under the Role column is empty, then the user account has no role on the site. The available roles are Site Manager, Site Builder, Editor, Contributor, Member, and Web Platform Services (WPS team only). See Figure 1, below.

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New users

If you need access to work on a Berkeley Web Builder site and do not yet have a user account, follow this 2-step process:

1. log in to the Berkeley Web Builder site via /cas with your CalNet ID and passphrase (see the Login and access page); then
2. ask your Site Manager to assign a role to your user account.

Until step #2, above, has been completed, you will not see any changes in the site interface after logging in. Once your Site Manager assigns a role to your user account, you will then see the appropriate platform tools according to your specific role. See the User roles section below to find the permissions available to each Berkeley Web Builder role.

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User roles

The Berkeley Web Builder platform comes with 5 user roles with different levels of permissions, summarized in order of increasing privilege. See Table 1, below, for a detailed overview of the available roles and permissions.

• Member: The most limited role, the Member role can only only edit content that they own and can view unpublished content. Assign it to users who need to be able to edit just a few pages, or to users who need to review content before publishing.
• Contributor: A more advanced editing role than Member with all of the permissions as the Member, plus a few more. Contributors can create new content and edit content they own. Assign it to users who need to be able to create and edit their own pages.
• Editor: A more advanced editing role than Contributor with all of the permissions as the Contributor, plus a few more. Assign it to users who need to be able to create and edit multiple pages, but who do not need additional privileges such as managing menus and creating categories.
• Site Builder:The most advanced editing role available, Site Builders have all of the permissions mentioned above, plus additional access to manage and organize their sites. This role should only be assigned to a limited number of trusted people on any given site. Every Site Builder should attend training at least once.
• Site Manager:The Site Manager has all of the same permissions as the Site Builder role and has the additional permission to add and modify roles on user accounts. The Site Manager role is pre-assigned to 1-2 user accounts on Berkeley Web Builder sites.
• Other roles: In addition to the above roles that site builders can assign, there are three roles that cannot be assigned or removed:
  • Anonymous users do not log in and do not have accounts. The role is used to control what regular visitors to your site can do. For example, anonymous users have permission to view published content, but not to view unpublished content.
  • Authenticated user is a role that applies automatically to any person who logs in to the site. These users do not have any more privileges than anonymous users.
  • Web Platform Services is a role that is only used by the Web Platform Services team on all managed Berkeley Web Builder websites. In addition to the permissions mentioned above, the Web Platform Services role can enable optional features and may also perform emergency maintenance on any aspect of a site, only if needed.

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Permissions by role in Berkeley Web Builder

See Tables 1 and 2, below, for a detailed overview of the permissions available to each role on the Berkeley Web Builder platform, categorized by content-related permissions and navigation and settings-related permissions. Contact your Site Manager if you have any questions about your editing role on your Berkeley Web Builder site.

Content permissions

Navigation and settings permissions

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