How to Quickly Switch Between WordPress Users (With a Free Plugin)

In most cases, youll only experience your WordPress website from an administrators perspective. With that role, youll have access to tweak your site in any way you want. However, sometimes youll need to view your site from a different perspective for testing or troubleshooting. The easiest way to do this is to switch between WordPress users with different roles.As you might imagine, this is something you can do manually at any time. However, keeping track of multiple usernames and passwords  is a massive pain, so finding a more efficient way to switch between WordPress users can save you a ton of time. Fortunately, you can  use a plugin to switch between different WordPress user accounts without leaving your dashboard.In this article, well talk more about why youd want to jump between WordPress accounts and then well teach you how to do it with the free  User Switching plugin. Lets jump right in! WordPress hierarchy, and it grants you access to all of WordPress features.  In some cases, however, you might need to resort to using an account with a different role. Instead of changing your accounts privileges, the easiest route is to simply log into a different one.Each WordPress user has a different role, and jumping between them can come in handy.Accessing a different user account can be  necessary for a variety of reasons, most of which will fall within these two categories:Troubleshooting errors.  WordPress is an excellent platform, but its not without the occasional bug (especially if youre running a lot of plugins). In some cases, your users may experience errors differently than you do because of  your accounts privileges. You may need to  check out what they see firsthand by switching accounts.Testing specific features.  Some themes and plugins will enable features only for specific account roles. In those cases, you might not be able to test if theyre working properly as an administrator, so youll have to use a different type of account. Specific examples of when switching user accounts is helpfulLets say, for example, that youre working on implementing a job board on your WordPress website. A lot of job sites enable users to submit their own listings. Youd want to double-check that this  feature works for anyone, which you can do by learning how to switch between WordPress users.Or, perhaps you need to  enable a maintenance page for your WordPress site. In this scenario, youd want to retain full access to your entire website, while displaying only  your maintenance page  to other users. If you wanted to check whether your maintenance page was working properly, you could switch accounts and do it in a minute or two.Additionally, switching between WordPress users is especially helpful for WordPress Multisite networks. After youve installed WordPress Multisite, youll almost always need to jump between different user accounts to see how everything is working.In these scenarios and more, having quick access to a variety of account roles is crucial.  Now, lets find out how to make that possible.Introducing the User Switching Plugin User Switching Author(s): John Blackbourn t reveal any personal information about the  user accounts youre borrowing (such as their passwords).Keep in mind that this plugin will provide you with limited access to any user account on your website. If you find yourself using it regularly, however, it might be simpler  to set up dummy accounts with different roles.Key features:Lets you switch between user accounts on your websiteMakes this feature only available to administratorsProtects your users privacy by hiding their passwordsEnables you to jump back to your primary account at any timePrice:User Switching is 100% free to use, so theres no reason not to give it a try!How to switch between user accounts in WordPressIf you decide to pick up the User Switching  plugin, the first thing youll want to do is install and activate  it. When youre done, make your way to the  Users → All Users  tab on your dashboard. Youll see that theres a new option next to each of the names on your list of users:Clicking on  Switch To  enables you to jump between WordPress users. All you need to do is click it for the account you want to use:Youll find yourself on a very different dashboard with fewer options and see a message alerting you that youre now viewing your site as a different user. In fact, if you switch to a regular subscriber account, the only option youll see is to edit your profile.You can also make your way to the front end of your site by clicking on your sites title on your dashboards navigation bar, as usual. When youre ready to return to your primary account, go back to your dashboard and click on the  Switch back to  option at the top. Its that simple.How to switch between user accounts from your dashboard navigation barIf you want to make the process even easier, however, you can set up an additional plugin on top of User Switching. The plugin is called Admin Bar User Switching. This tool enables you to jump between accounts right from your dashboards navigation bar. Admin Bar User Switching Author(s): Mark WilkinsonCurrent Version: 1.1.1Last Updated: April 1, 2017admin-bar-user-switching.zip 98%Ratings 15,520Downloads WP 3.1+Requires Once youve set it up, youll see a new  Switch User  option on your navigation bar. If you click on it, youll be able to search through your existing users and pick an account to jump to from anywhere on your site.Aside from that, this plugin doesnt change anything on your site. Keep in mind  that it wont work properly unless you set up the User Switching plugin first. Also,  it only makes sense to install both plugins if you intend to use this feature frequently.ConclusionLearning how to switch between WordPress users seamlessly is a simple trick that can enable you to troubleshoot your site more efficiently. Plus, it  will enable you to te st specific features more thoroughly, and ensure that  your site is displaying well for everyone.Whats more, the process is simple. All you have to do is install and activate the User Switching plugin and head to the profile of any user whose account you want to test. Click a button to put yourself in their shoes, and youll be able to switch back to your main account at any time.