Table of contents

What is the Customer user role in WordPress?WooCommerce and Customer accounts: how it worksWhat permissions do Customer users have?Customer vs Subscriber role: what’s the difference?How to manage Customer users in WordPressCustomizing the Customer experienceCan you delete or disable the Customer role?Does WooCommerce have other specialized roles?Getting started

Get the industry’s fastest WooCommerce hosting◦ 99.99% uptime
◦ Comprehensive security
◦ 24/7 support

WordPress Guide → WooCommerce → Customer Users

What are WordPress Customer users?

When someone buys from your WooCommerce store, they don’t just get a receipt—they also get a user role. WordPress assigns specific capabilities to different user types, and if you’re running an online shop, you’ll probably see lots of users labeled as “Customers.” But what does that actually mean?

Let’s break down what the Customer user role is, how it works, what it can do, and how it compares to other WordPress roles like Subscriber and Shop Manager.

Get fast, reliable WooCommerce hosting

Power your site with the industry’s fastest web hosting built specifically for WordPress and WooCommerce

WooCommerce hosting

What is the Customer user role in WordPress?

The “Customer” user role is created by the WooCommerce plugin and is assigned to any user who registers or checks out through your store. Unlike native WordPress user roles like Administrator or Subscriber, Customer is specific to ecommerce sites using WooCommerce.

Customers are site users with their own accounts, but they don’t have access to post content or edit site settings. Instead, they’re given just enough access to view their orders, download digital products, and manage personal account details.

WooCommerce and Customer accounts: how it works

WooCommerce automatically assigns the Customer role during the registration or checkout process—no manual action required. When a user fills in their details during a purchase, WooCommerce creates a new WordPress user and assigns them the “Customer” role.

After logging in, Customers can:

View their order history and order status
Update billing and shipping addresses
Download digital purchases
Reorder products with a few clicks

Store admins can view and manage Customer accounts under Users > All Users in the WordPress dashboard.

What permissions do Customer users have?

Customer users have limited backend permissions focused entirely on their own account. Here’s what they can do:

Log in to the site
View and manage their own orders
Edit their billing and shipping information
Download digital goods they’ve purchased
Leave product reviews (if enabled)
Comment on blog posts

What they cannot do:

Access the WordPress admin dashboard
Edit or publish posts or pages
Manage products, plugins, or themes
View or manage other users’ data

This makes the Customer role more capable than a Subscriber, but much more restricted than a Shop Manager or Administrator.

Customer vs Subscriber role: what’s the difference?

At first glance, the Customer and Subscriber roles seem similar. Both have limited permissions and access only their own profiles. But their intended uses are quite different.

Feature	Customer Role	Subscriber Role
Created by WooCommerce	✅ Yes	❌ No
Can log in to WordPress	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Manage WooCommerce orders	✅ Yes	❌ No
Edit account info	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Comment on blog posts	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Access WP admin dashboard	❌ No	❌ No

Subscribers are ideal for newsletter signups or members of a blog-only site, while Customers are designed specifically for online stores.

How to manage Customer users in WordPress

As a store owner, you can manage Customer users just like any other WordPress user:

Go to Users > All Users in your dashboard.
Search or filter for the “Customer” role.
Click a username to view or edit their profile.
Reset passwords, change email addresses, or update roles as needed.

You can also manually assign the Customer role to a user when creating or editing their account. This might be helpful if you’re migrating users from another platform or testing your store.

To stop new Customer registrations, head to WooCommerce > Settings > Accounts & Privacy and uncheck registration options.

Customizing the Customer experience

Want to tailor what your Customers see or can do? Try these methods:

Use User Role Editor to fine-tune Customer permissions.
Control content visibility for logged-in Customers using Block Visibility.

These tools let you expand or restrict capabilities based on how your store operates.

When should you assign the Customer role manually?

Although WooCommerce handles Customer roles automatically, you might assign it manually in cases like:

Creating test accounts for staging or QA
Migrating a user from another platform or plugin
Giving someone store-only access without blog or editorial permissions
Assigning roles for wholesale or bulk buyers who need access to restricted pricing

Can you delete or disable the Customer role?

Technically, yes—but it’s a bad idea. The Customer role is built into WooCommerce’s default role system, and removing it can cause login errors or prevent users from checking out properly.

If you’re concerned about what Customers can see or do, it’s better to:

Limit permissions using a role editor plugin
Customize pages shown to logged-in Customers
Use conditional content display plugins to control visibility

Does WooCommerce have other specialized roles?

Yes—WooCommerce also creates a Shop Manager role. While Customers are designed for buyers, Shop Managers are trusted users who can help run your store.

The Shop Manager role includes permissions such as:

Managing orders
Adding or editing products
Viewing WooCommerce reports
Accessing WooCommerce settings (but not full admin settings)

This role is perfect for store employees or contractors who need operational access without full admin control. It sits somewhere between Customer and Administrator in terms of power and responsibility.

Getting started with WordPress Customer users

The Customer role is essential for WooCommerce stores and helps users manage their purchases with ease. Understanding its permissions helps store owners deliver a secure and user-friendly experience.

To get the most out of your store’s user management, explore WooCommerce’s settings and consider using a role editor plugin to tailor the experience.

Ready to upgrade your WooCommerce experience? Professional hosting improves speeds, security, and reliability for a website and a brand that people find engaging and trustworthy. Liquid Web’s WooCommerce hosting options configure business-class servers and support plans specifically for WordPress websites.

Don’t want to deal with server management and maintenance? Let our experts deal with server management and maintenance. Our fully managed hosting for WordPress is the best in the industry. Our team are not only server IT experts, but WordPress hosting experts as well. Your server couldn’t be in better hands.

Click through below to explore all of our WooCommerce hosting options, or chat with a WordPress expert right now to get answers and advice.