CMS Support
Managing Users
Here are the common questions and documentation to do with users on CMS and on your individual sites.
CMS Users FAQs
Everything you need to know about user accounts on the CMS platform in general including how to get one, why they are required, who is eligible, and how to know if someone has one.
How do I get an account on CMS?
If you have a CWL, and you are either a UBC student, an alumni, a member of faculty, a member of staff, or a sponsored employee, then an account on CMS will be created for you the first time you try to sign in to any site on CMS. The easiest way is to sign in on this website – the main CMS website – and an account will be created based on the details in your CWL account.
Who is eligible for account on UBC CMS?
For those who are either a UBC student, an alumni, a member of faculty, a member of staff, or a sponsored employee, then as long as you have a CWL, you are eligible for an account on CMS.
Why is an account required on CMS?
In order to administrate a CMS website or author/edit content on a site on CMS, then a CMS account is required. This is separate to your CWL account, but will be tied to your CWL (via your PUID).
How do I know if someone has a CMS account?
If you have tried to invite someone to your site on CMS and received an error that there is no one with that email address who has an account on CMS, it means either a) the person you are inviting does not have a CMS account, or b) if the person does have a CMS account, the email address attached to it isn’t the same as the address you used in the invite. If a person can sign in to the main CMS website, then they have a CMS account.
How do I sign in to CMS?
To sign in to the main website on CMS (in order to see a list of sites you are attached to) please visit https://sites.olt.ubc.ca/wp-admin/. In order to sign in to a specific website on CMS, append /wp-admin/ to the URL for that site. For example, if you are attached to and are trying to sign in to https://myfaculty.ubc.ca/ then you would visit https://myfaculty.ubc.ca/wp-admin/
How do I remove my CMS account?
Please submit a support request in order to delete your account and one of our support team will help you out. This will not delete your CWL account.
What are the different user roles?
UBC CMS is a WordPress install and as such follows the WordPress User Roles. Please see the documentation about WordPress User Roles.
How do I remove myself from a site on UBC CMS?
If you haven’t already logged in to UBC CMS, please go to cms.ubc.ca and click the ‘CMS Sign In’ button. Once you have been redirected to the WordPress Dashboard, hover over ‘Dashboard’ on the left side menu and click ‘My Sites’.
If you have already logged in to UBC CMS, please go to cms.ubc.ca, and click the ‘View My Sites’ button.
Once you’re on the ‘My Sites’ page, look for the site that you would like to remove yourself from, and click the ‘Remove Me’ link right under the site title.
Inviting/Adding Users FAQs
You are an administrator of a site and want to know how to add other users to your site; here’s everything you need to know.
How do I invite a user to my site on UBC CMS?
Since June 2023 the way in which you add users to your sites on CMS has changed. Instead of inviting users, administrators of a site can now directly add a user to their site. Visit Users > Invite User from the dashboard of the site you wish to add users to and follow the instructions on screen. Ensure that the person you are adding already has a CMS account before trying to add them. We also published a guide on how to add users to sites on CMS or Blogs.
What happens when I add someone to my site on CMS?
The user will be added to your site immediately at the role you selected. They will receive an email informing them that they have been added to your site at the role you selected.
When I try to add someone I get an error that there is no account with that email address. Now what?
In order to add someone to a site on CMS they must first already have an account on the platform. Please instruct them to visit https://cms.ubc.ca/ and press the Sign In button. When someone first signs in an account will automatically be provisioned for them attached to their CWL. Now ask them to click their name in the top right hand corner of the screen, this will take them to their CMS Profile. Ask them to send you the email address that is half way down that page. This is the email address that you can use to add them to your site.
The person I added didn’t receive the email. What can I do?
It has possibly gone to spam. As long as when you added the user you received a success message, and you can see their details on the Users > All Users screen on your site, you have added them successfully. Please ask the user to check their spam box.
What is the ‘role’ I have to specify when inviting a user to my site?
UBC CMS is a WordPress install and as such follows the WordPress User Roles. Please see the documentation about WordPress User Roles.
Why don’t I see the Invite User option on my site?
Only administrators are able to add users to sites on CMS. If you think you should be an administrator of a site, please speak with an existing administrator of the site and ask them to change your user role, or if you’re unsure who administrates the site, please email lt.hub@ubc.ca and let us know the URL of the site and we’ll let you know who to contact.
Someone is trying to invite/add me to a site. What info do they need?
In order for a CMS site administrator to add you to their site they need to know your UBC CMS Account email address. This might be different to your CWL email address. To check, please follow the following instructions:
- Sign in to CMS at https://sites.olt.ubc.ca/wp-admin/
- You will need to authenticate with your CWL username and password
- Once you have authenticated you can then visit your CMS user profile at https://sites.olt.ubc.ca/wp-admin/profile.php
- Half way down that screen will be the email address attached to your CMS account
Send your CMS email address to the person who will be adding you to their site.
Have some other questions?
You have a couple options. Below here you’ll find several more FAQs and support documents. And if those don’t help, then you can submit a support request.
Managing Users FAQs
You have added users to your site on CMS, but want to know what different roles can and can’t do, or perhaps who can see what. Here’s answers to your questions…
How can I see what role someone is on my site?
As an administrator of a site you are able to see a list of all of the users on your site as well as what role they are. Visit Users > All Users to see a (paginated) list of all users on your site listed alongside their role and email address attached to their CMS account.
How do I change the role of someone on my site?
As an administrator of a site you are able to adjust the role that other users have on that site. From Users > All Users find the user whose role you wish to adjust and check the checkbox to the left of their username (if you are intending to change multiple user’s roles at the same time, all to the same role, then you can check multiple checkboxes next to each user’s username). Now, towards the top of the screen you will see a dropdown labeled ‘Change role to…’. Click that and then select the role you wish to assign to the user(s) you have selected. Now press the ‘Change’ button and the user(s) will now have your chosen role.
How do I revoke access to my site for a specific user?
As an administrator of a site you are able to remove users from a site. From the dashboard of a site you wish to remove someone from, visit Users > All Users. Now hover your cursor over the username of the person you wish to remove and click ‘Remove’. Alternatively, check the checkbox next to their username, and then in the dropdown labeled ‘Bulk Actions’ select ‘Remove’ and then press the ‘Change’ button.
What can a user of a specific role do or see on my site?
UBC CMS is a WordPress install and as such follows the WordPress User Roles. Please see the documentation about WordPress User Roles.
I’m not an administrator of a particular site, but think I should be. How do I become one?
If you think you should be an administrator of a site, please speak with an existing administrator of the site and ask them to change your user role, or if you’re unsure who administrates the site, please email lt.hub@ubc.ca and let us know the URL of the site and we’ll let you know who to contact.