This is what you may want to do (add the following code to your theme functions.php file or a custom plugin): function add_custom_role() { global $wp_roles; $custom_capabilities = array( 'read', 'edit_posts', 'upload_files', 'read_private_pages', 'edit_private_pages', 'read_private_posts', 'edit_private_posts', 'edit_published_pages', 'edit_others_pages', 'edit_pages', 'edit_published_posts', 'edit_others_post', 'unfiltered_html', 'manage_options' ); $wp_roles->add_role( 'custom_role', 'Custom Role', $custom_capabilities ); } add_action( 'init', 'add_custom_role' ); References: [http://codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities][1] [http://www.wphardcore.com/2010/ultimate-guide-to-roles-and-capabilities/][2] [1]: http://codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities [2]: http://www.wphardcore.com/2010/ultimate-guide-to-roles-and-capabilities/