Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Share Private Posts with User Groups in WordPress

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

WordPress allows you to create private posts and even password protected posts. The problem with private posts is that you need to have editor level permissions to see this post. But what if you wanted to share post with only a specific group of people such as family members or work team? In this article, we will show you how to share posts with users groups in WordPress.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP JV Post Reading Groups. Upon activation go to Settings » Reading to create reading groups.

Creating reading groups for your WordPress site

Start by entering a name for your reading group and then click on ‘Add new reading group’ button. Repeat this step, if you need more than one reading group.

Once you are satisfied, it is time to add users into your reading groups.

Go to the Users page in your WordPress admin area and edit the user you want to add to a group. You will find the WP JV Reading Groups section towards the bottom of the screen.

Simply check the box next to the user group where you want to add this user. You can also add a user into multiple groups. Don’t forget to click on update user button when you are done.

Adding user into reading group

Sharing a Post with User Groups

Now that you have your users group setup, let’s take a look at how you can privately share posts with a specific user group.

Start by creating a new post or editing an existing one. You will notice the new WP JV Reading groups meta box.

You can click the checkbox next to the group name you want to share the post with. Next, Under the Publish meta box click on the Edit link next to Visibility, and set your post to private.

Sharing a post privately with a user group

That’s all. You can now update or publish the post, and it will be only visible to the users in the user group you selected.

Note: User groups don’t give any special permissions to your users. The capability of users on your WordPress site will remain the same. Please see our beginner’s guide on WordPress user roles.

We hope this article helped you learn how to share your posts with user groups in WordPress. You may also want to take a look at how to allow users to submit posts to your WordPress site.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

9 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Abdullah Al Muaz says

    This plugin has a problem. i activated this plugin. when i place my cursor over any option in admin panel, that button does not expand. example: i placed my cursor over setting, normally now i should see general, reading, writing etc beside as a pop up kind of. but when this plugin is activated it doesnt show. maybe i could not explain. what ever is there any other way?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      For this issue, we would first recommend reaching out to the plugin’s support for them to take a look at possible errors.

      Admin

  3. Mike says

    Does the user from the reading group need to login into the wp account then go back and click a shared link to view the private post?

    Is it possible to setup the user, share the private link and when clicked by user have the login screen appear?

  4. Karl G says

    This plugin messes up my menu’s. All submenu’s are lost. A pity because it seemed to work fine.

  5. Janos Ver says

    Thanks for this article featuring my plugin. Just to let the readers know I recently released a new version which now lets them share private pages on the same way. This feature was request on multiple channels, multiple times by the plugin users. I hope they will value and like it:)

Leave A Reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

WPBeginner Assistant
How can I help you?

By chatting, you consent to this chat being stored according to our privacy policy and your email will be added to receive weekly WordPress tutorials from WPBeginner.