WordPress – User Levels

The WordPress User Level system is designed to give the blog owner the ability to control and assign what users can and cannot do in the blog. A blog owner must manage and allow access to such functions as writing and editing Posts,creating Pages, defining Links, creating Categories, moderating Comments, managing Plugins, managing Themes, andmanaging other users. The tool that gives the blog owner that control is the User Level; and, this article provides the details on those User Levels

The WordPress User Levels range from 0 to 10. A User Level 0 (zero) is the lowest possible Level and User Level 10 is the highest Level–meaning User Level 10 has absolute authority (highest permission level). Generally, a given User Level allows the user to edit or modify postings for users that are at a “lower” User Level than themselves. Some User Levels can also add, delete, edit, and change the User Levels of other “lower” Level users. For discussion purposes, all visitors who register and login to a WordPress blog are called users.

The user assigned User Level 10 is the administrative user and is referred to as the admin user in this article. During the WordPressinstallation process, the install script automatically creates theadmin user and assigns User Level 10. Normally, only one user should be permitted the User Level 10 privilege since that Level grants absolute power to control all others.

Source: http://socialmediarodeo.com/gunslingers/user-levels-in-wordpress