How to Restrict Admin Access by User Capability

Are you looking for a way to restrict admin access by user capability? While there’s probably a plugin for this, we have created a quick code snippet that you can use to restrict admin access by user capability in WordPress.

Users will be redirected back to the home page if they do not have the manage_options capability. We added && ( ! defined( 'DOING_AJAX' ) || ! DOING_AJAX ) to ensure the request is not an ajax request. Keep in mind that you can always change the manage_options capability to something else that suits your requirement.

You can find a list of capabilities within the WordPress Codex.

Instructions:

All you have to do is add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or in a site-specific plugin:

function wps_restrict_admin() {
    if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' )  && ( ! defined( 'DOING_AJAX' ) || ! DOING_AJAX )  ) {
        wp_redirect( home_url() );
        exit;
    }
}
add_action( 'admin_init', 'wps_restrict_admin', 1 );

Note: If this is your first time adding code snippets in WordPress, then please refer to our guide on how to properly add code snippets in WordPress, so you don’t accidentally break your site.

If you liked this code snippet, please consider checking out our other articles on the site like: 9 best WordPress ad management plugins and how to create a file upload form in WordPress.