Send an Email When a User Is Added to a WordPress Role

Whenever someone gains a role that matters — editor, shop_manager, a custom role tied to a paid tier — it's often worth someone knowing, wherever the change came from: an admin editing a profile, a new registration, or another plugin granting access. Zapify does this with the A user is added to a role trigger and the Send an email action — both free.

This trigger fires on the underlying role-grant event itself, so it catches every way a role gets added — not just the specific "user registers" or "user logs in" moments covered by add a role to a new WordPress user and add a user role when someone logs in.

What this automation does

The automation is one trigger plus one action:

• Trigger: A user is added to a role (WP_USER_ROLE_ADDED, WordPress)
• Action: Send an email (WP_SEND_EMAIL, WordPress)

When the role you choose is granted to a user — without removing any role they already had — Zapify fills the email's tokens and sends it.

Before you start

• The role you want to watch must already exist.
• Both the trigger and the action are free.

How to build the automation

Step 1: Create a new automation

1. In the WordPress admin, go to Zapify → Automations.
2. Click Add New to open the builder.
3. Name it clearly, such as Notify when someone becomes an editor.

Step 2: Add the "A user is added to a role" trigger

1. Click Add Trigger.

2. Choose WordPress as the app.

3. Select the trigger A user is added to a role.

4. In the Role field, pick the specific role, or leave it on Any role.

Step 3: Add the "Send an email" action

1. Click Add Action.

2. Choose WordPress as the app.

3. Select Send an email.

Step 4: Configure the email

For example, watching for the editor role:

• To: admin@example.com
• Subject: {{trigger:USER_DISPLAY_NAME}} is now an editor
• Body: Role granted: {{trigger:ROLE_ADDED}}. User email: {{trigger:USER_EMAIL}}.

Step 5: Set the steps Live and save

1. Set both the trigger and the action to Live.
2. Click Save.

Tokens you can use

Token	What it holds
Role added	The role that was granted.
User tokens (User email, User display name, etc.)	The user who received the role.

How to test it

1. Grant the role you configured to a test user, either from Users → Edit User or through whatever plugin or signup flow normally assigns it.
2. Check the recipient inbox for the email.
3. If nothing arrives, open Zapify → Logs to see whether the run fired.

Conclusion

With the A user is added to a role trigger and the Send an email action, Zapify catches a role grant no matter where it came from. Next, watch for a role being swapped out entirely instead of added with an email when a WordPress user's role changes, or see the full picture in triggers and actions.

FAQs

Does this also fire when a user registers with this role as their default?

Yes. Registration, an admin editing a profile, and another plugin granting a role all go through the same underlying WordPress mechanism this trigger listens on.

What's the difference between this and "a WordPress user's role changes"?

This trigger fires when a role is added on top of whatever roles a user already has. A WordPress user's role changes fires when a user's role is replaced outright. Use whichever matches how roles are managed on your site.

Can I watch for more than one role?

Yes. Leave the Role field on Any role to catch every grant, or add a separate trigger for each specific role you want to watch.

Is this feature free?

Yes. Both the trigger and the Send an email action are free.

Do I need to write any code?

No. Everything is configured in the Zapify visual builder.