Learn Drupal ...master Drupal, one step at a time

Drupal allows you to manage how visitors interact with your website through a powerful system of roles and permissions. You can create roles into which to place your users, depending on the functionality of your website, and how you want users to interact with your site.

You can control what each person who comes to your site is able to do, and even what they're able to see, by assigning them to a role that has the permissions you desire. This requires planning on your part.

The basic steps are:

1. Create Roles
2. Set Permissions for Roles
3. Assign Users to Roles

I have posted a step by step tutorial on the topic of roles, users, and permissions . Be sure to ask any questions you may have here or in comments at the end of the tutorial.