Introduction

Typically a single user will be completely able to manage a newly started blog on his own. However, if the blog grows to an extent where your readers want more of your awesome content - it may be a bit overwhelming to handle it solo. This is why the Ghost blogging platform implemented a “Staff” system giving you the option of adding more users to your blog to handle different aspects, such as writing content, editing content, publishing content, or administrating the website. In this tutorial, we will go over the process of adding more users, how to manage their roles, and everything related to their accounts. Let’s begin!

Accessing the Staff Section

To access the staff section, please log into your Ghost’s admin dashboard. You can do so by entering your domain name followed by /ghost at the end. For example:

• ghost.hostarmadatutorials.com/ghost

After logging in, please point your attention to the left sidebar and select the “Staff” option.

When selected, all of the users will be displayed in the middle of the screen. If you are the only user and you have just installed Ghost, you will see yourself (Owner), and of course - the Ghost user, which is a demo user with the “Author” role.

On this page, you will have the option to either add new users or edit current ones.

Inviting new users

To add new users to your blog, please click the “Invite people” button, located on the top right corner of the page. Doing so will open a popup window in the middle of the screen.

To enable the person to create an account and join your blogging crusade, please type in his email under the “Email Address” label and select his role from the dropdown menu, located under the “Role” label. Before we continue further, let’s talk a bit about the role options.

• Contributor - This is the most basic role a user can have. A contributor can create, edit, and delete the draft posts, but are unable to publish them or perform any actions on other user’s draft posts.
• Author - The author is the second-highest level of access you can provide to a user. A user with this role is able to create, edit, delete and publish their own posts.
• Editor - Editors are users with the same access as authors; however, they can also edit, delete, and publish other people’s posts.
• Administrator - The highest level of access a Ghost user can have. They can do everything that the previous roles can and additionally alter site and data settings. They are also able to invite other people and remove them from the user list.
• Owner - You can consider the owner as a “super administrator”. He has the same level of control as an administrator with one exception - this type of user cannot be deleted or downgraded. An owner can transfer ownership to a user, and in such an act, he will become an administrator. You are unable to select this role from the dropdown menu.

After typing in the user’s email account and choosing his role, please press the green “Send invitation now” button, located at the bottom of the window.

The popup window will disappear, and a notification message will show on the bottom left side of your screen, indicating the invitation has been sent.

If the user goes to his email account, they will find a message, greeting them, and providing a link to create an account.

When the “Click here to activate your account” link is hit, they will be redirected to the account creation page, which is described in our How to Install Ghost on HostArmada tutorial, right after the installation instructions. After completing the account creation setup, the user will be able to log in and utilize the amount of access you provided.

When you invite someone to become a user on your blog, they will be listed on the “Staff” page on top of the screen under the “Invited Users” section. The user will be populating a row that contains the role. Right next to the role label, you will see two links.

• Revoke - Presing the “Revoke” link will cancel the invite, and the link sent to the invited user will immediately expire.
• Resend - Sometimes, the user may not receive the message containing the link to create an account. Clicking the “Resend” button will send the message once more.

Note that this link will have an expiration date regardless of you hitting the resent button that lasts for 7 days. If the user has not registered an account by then, you will need to repeat the invitation process.

Edit existing users

To edit an existing user, all you need to do is select it by pressing the row corresponding to the user from the list inside the “Staff” page on your blog.

This will open a new page that has quite a lot of things you can change. On the top right corner, next to the “Save” button, you will see a cogwheel icon. Clicking on that icon will expand two options underneath.

• Delete User - Selecting this option will allow you to delete the user.
• Suspend User - Selecting this option will allow you to suspend the user, preventing him from logging in.

On the top left corner, you will see the “Change Cover” option. Clicking it will open a popup window allowing you to change the cover image of the specific user. To do so, click the “Upload an image” button and select an image from your PC or device. Finally, hit the “Save” button located on the bottom right corner of the popup window. Each user has his own page listed on the site, and the cover will be displayed there when visited.

In the middle of the screen, you will notice a round icon containing a human-like figure. This is the profile picture of the user, and if you hover over it, you will notice the “Edit Picture” link. Please click it to change the profile picture of the selected user.

Clicking the “Edit Picture” link will open a similar popup window to the “Change Cover” button. Please click the “Upload an image” button and select an image from your PC or device. Finally, hit the “Save” button located on the bottom right corner of the popup window.  Each user has his own page listed on the site, and the profile picture will be displayed there when visited.

Scrolling down will allow you to change the personal information along with the user’s role, and the user’s password.

• Full Name - You can use this text field to change the name of the selected user.
• Slug - You can use this text field to change the user’s slug. This is the URL of the user’s page.
• Email - You can use this text field to change the user’s email address.
• Role - You can use this dropdown menu to select a new role for the user.
• Location - You can use this text field to change the place of residence for the user.
• Website - You can use this text field to change the website associated with the user, such as a personal portfolio site or blog.
• Facebook Profile - You can use this text field to change the Facebook profile of the user.
• Twitter Profile - You can use this text field to change the Twitter profile of the user.
• Bio - You may use this content box to write down a brief bio of the user, which will be displayed on their page on your blog.
• New Password - If you wish to change the password, please type in the new password in this text field.
• Verify Password - Please re-type the password from the above text field.
• Change Password - Press this button when the two fields above are populated to perform the password change.

Finally, when you are done performing the changes for the selected user, please press the “Save” button, located on the top right side of the screen, to save them.

There you have it! The way to add new users to your Ghost blog and edit existing ones explained in the tiniest detail. We hope that the provided information was sufficient and that you were able to answer all the questions you previously had.