Multiple Roles
by Christian Neumann · Login & Users
Also makes 1 other plugin · 5K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allow users to have multiple roles on one site.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 88/100
no flags
Active installs
5K+
≈5.5K estimated
Momentum
+10%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “user roles” for “multiple”. “user roles” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #12. “multiple” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
88 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.3%
of downloads still active
At least 5K of 117.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 109 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.7★ over 15 reviews, smoothed to 4.24★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
33
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.6
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
8%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| multiple roles your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| multiple roles per user your tag | #3 | #6 | down 1 |
| multiple | #4 | #4 | down 3 |
| edit roles your tag | #4 | #9 | down 1 |
| roles | #4 | #6 | 0 |
| edit user roles your tag | #5 | #11 | down 1 |
| add multiple | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| multiple page | #3 | #5 | up 1 |
| multiple plugins | #4 | #9 | up 1 |
| user roles your tag | #12 | #16 | up 1 |
| multiple users | #5 | #10 | down 1 |
| role | #12 | #13 | down 1 |
| multiple wordpress | #8 | #16 | 0 |
| user roles and permission | #9 | #18 | down 1 |
| wordpress user roles | #14 | #18 | down 2 |
| users roles | #15 | #16 | down 1 |
| users list and users roles | #16 | #20 | down 2 |
42 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 17 listed. 25 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “user roles” for “multiple”. “user roles” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #12. “multiple” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “user roles”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 4.6K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v1.3.8 · 14 Jul 2026
15
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 95% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “5K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 18 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Dennis Bareis1.3y ago
Not much to say, does exactly what is says
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ multmediadesigns2.9y ago
Simple and to the point. Did exactly what I needed. This topic was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by multmediadesigns.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ thomasprice616.3y ago
Elegant and simple .. a great plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Old account6.3y ago
Thank you for this plugin, this is the cleanest interface to add multiple roles that I’ve seen. The popular User Role Editor plugin should take this as an example of good UX.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Monique8.5y ago
Great plugin. Used on multiple sites now and it works perfectly every time
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ssheward8.5y ago
Installed this on my 4.9.5 site and performance was severely degraded. This was the first thing I disabled in order to troubleshoot and it was like night and day. Recommend finding an alternate solution unless this issue is addressed.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ahrengot9.1y ago
Browsed through the source code too. Everything looks good code-wise as well. This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by Ahrengot. This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by Ahrengot.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ inspired8889.1y ago
In my opinion, it’s a major oversight for WP to not provide this interface by default. What a ridiculous limitation to have only one role per user. As you say, the underlying feature exists, but WP does not make it accessible. This plug-in does a great job of fixing that oversight. Thanks.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.3.8 13th july 2026 SECURITY FIX: Properly validate that submitted roles are ones the current user is actually allowed to grant Fix a bug on Multisite that could lose the selected roles during user signup Thanks to Na Lee for 1.3.8
- — Version 1.3.6 1st june 2022 SECURITY FIX: Validate that the user is allowed to change selected roles 1.3.6
- — Version 1.3.5 27th may 2022 Test the plugin against WordPress 6.0 Fix open issues with sanitizing text 1.3.5
- — Version 1.3.4 25th may 2022 Add new plugin maintainer: cneumann 1.3.4
- — Version 1.3.2 30th june 2021 Test the plugin against WordPress 5.7 Fix the use of nonce for two functions 1.3.2
- — Version 1.3.1 1st july 2020 Test the plugin against WordPress 5.4 Fix an issue when the user role could be lost because of a wrong check in the backend 1.3.1
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.3.8). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2022-07-26 Improper Authorization Affects < 1.3.7 Patched in 1.3.7
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 10 languages, 6 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allow users to have multiple roles on one site."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Multisite.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 563 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("edit roles", "edit user roles", "multiple roles per user", "user roles" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-01-21 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-20 5K+ → 6K+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-01-16 6K+ → 5K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-15 5K+ → 6K+ up after 8 days in tier
- 2026-01-07 6K+ → 5K+ down after 403 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 7K+ → 6K+ down after 202 days in tier
- 2024-05-12 6K+ → 7K+ up after 15 days in tier
- 2024-04-27 7K+ → 6K+ down after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A - U User Roles and Capabilities 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag D
-
Different Menu in Different Pages – Conditional Menu 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag B -
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
HM Multiple Roles 1K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Multiple Roles into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/multiple-roles" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Multiple Roles — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Multiple Roles: 5K+ active installs, 4.7★ (15 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/multiple-roles
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