Not everyone in your organization needs access to everything. Surf CMS includes a powerful role-based permissions system that lets you control exactly what each user can see, edit, publish, and manage.
Whether you have two staff members or hundreds of employees, freelancers, contributors, and volunteers, Surf CMS helps ensure everyone has access to the tools they need—and nothing they don't.
Create Unlimited User Roles
Build roles that match the way your newspaper operates, including:
- Publishers
- Editors
- Managing Editors
- Reporters
- Sports Editors
- Opinion Editors
- Copy Editors
- Photographers
- Advertising Representatives
- Advertising Managers
- Circulation Staff
- Customer Service
- Web Administrators
- Designers
- Freelance Contributors
- Columnists
- Interns
- Community Contributors
- Subscribers
- Members
You can create additional custom roles at any time to fit your organization's workflow.
Fine-Grained Permissions
Control access down to individual features and actions.
Examples include permission to:
- Create articles
- Edit articles
- Publish content
- Unpublish content
- Delete content
- Upload images
- Manage videos
- Edit only their own content
- Edit content created by others
- Schedule publication
- Manage comments
- Access analytics
- Manage newsletters
- Edit menus
- Manage advertising
- Configure the website
- Access AI tools
- Manage users
- View reports
Every permission can be assigned independently.
Editorial Workflows
Permissions help support an organized publishing process.
For example:
- Reporters write stories.
- Editors review and edit them.
- Managing editors approve publication.
- Publishers oversee the entire operation.
Each person sees only the tools and actions appropriate for their role.
Department-Specific Access
Advertising staff don't need access to newsroom tools.
Newsroom staff don't need access to billing.
Customer service doesn't need access to website configuration.
Surf CMS lets every department work independently while maintaining a secure, organized system.
Protect Your Website
Restrict access to sensitive areas such as:
- User management
- Website configuration
- Theme settings
- Advertising administration
- Newsletter management
- AI administration
- Security settings
- System reports
This reduces the risk of accidental changes while improving overall security.
Scale as Your Organization Grows
Whether your publication has:
- Two employees
- Twenty staff members
- Multiple newspapers
- Regional operations
- Hundreds of users
Surf CMS can scale with your organization while keeping permissions organized and easy to manage.
Built for Community Newspapers
Community newspapers often rely on a mix of full-time staff, part-time employees, freelancers, interns, volunteers, and guest contributors. Surf CMS makes it easy to give each person the right level of access without creating unnecessary complexity.
Flexible Enough for Every Workflow
No two newsrooms operate exactly the same. Surf CMS allows you to build a permission structure that matches your editorial policies, approval processes, and organizational hierarchy.
As your team changes, roles and permissions can be updated in just a few clicks.
The Right Access for the Right People
Powerful user roles and permissions help protect your website, streamline editorial workflows, and give every member of your organization exactly the tools they need. Surf CMS combines enterprise-level flexibility with an easy-to-manage interface that's designed specifically for community newspapers.
Control who can do what. Create unlimited user roles, assign detailed permissions, and build secure editorial workflows that match the way your newspaper operates.