How to Allow Shop Manager and Other Non-Admin Roles to Reorder Posts in WordPress

Many WordPress site administrators, particularly those using WooCommerce, encounter a common issue: users with roles like 'Shop Manager' or 'Contributor' cannot access the drag-and-drop reordering functionality provided by the Post Types Order plugin. This guide explains why this happens and provides the most effective solutions.

Why Can't My Shop Manager or Contributor Reorder Items?

The core issue is one of user capabilities and permissions. By default, the Post Types Order plugin requires a specific user capability level to function. Roles like Administrator have this capability, but roles like Shop Manager, Editor, or Contributor often do not. This is a security feature to prevent unauthorized users from making significant changes to your site's structure.

Common Solutions to Grant Reordering Permissions

Based on community discussions and solutions, here are the most effective ways to resolve this permission problem.

Solution 1: Adjust the Plugin's Minimum Role Setting

The first and easiest step is to check the plugin's built-in settings.

1. Navigate to Settings > Post Types Order in your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Look for the setting labeled 'Minimum Level to use this plugin'.
3. From the dropdown menu, select a user role with lower permissions than Administrator, such as 'Editor' or 'Shop Manager'. The 'Shop Manager' role is a WooCommerce-specific role that is typically equivalent to an Editor.
4. Save your changes.

This action grants the reordering capability to everyone at that role level and above. If this does not work, proceed to the next solution.

Solution 2: Use a User Role Editor Plugin

Sometimes, the required capability is not automatically assigned to custom roles like 'Shop Manager'. To fix this, you need to manually assign the correct capability.

1. Install and activate a plugin like User Role Editor.
2. Go to Users > User Role Editor.
3. Select the role you want to modify (e.g., 'Shop Manager') from the dropdown menu.
4. Find and check the capability named 'manage_post_types_order' in the list of capabilities.
5. Click 'Update' to save the new permissions for that role.

This should grant users with that role access to the Post Types Order interface.

Important Considerations and Clarifications

• WooCommerce Sorting Link: Be aware that the 'Sorting' link sometimes found within the WooCommerce product list is not a feature of the Post Types Order plugin. To use Post Types Order, you must access the dedicated 'ReOrder' interface through the WordPress admin menu.
• Plugin Conflicts: If a user receives a "You do not have sufficient permissions to access this page" error even after adjusting roles, the problem is likely a conflict with another plugin. A standard troubleshooting step is to deactivate other plugins one by one to identify which one is causing the permission conflict.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully grant your Shop Managers, Contributors, and other trusted users the ability to reorder posts and products without having to promote them to full Administrators.