How to Send an Email When a WordPress User's Role Changes

User roles can change as people move through different stages of your website.

For example, a member may become a contributor, a customer may become a manager, or an administrator may change a user's permissions.

Instead of manually notifying the user every time their role changes, you can use Zapify to send an email automatically.

With this automation:

When: A user's WordPress role changes

Then: Zapify automatically sends an email

What can you automate?

You can create an automation like this:

User's role changes → Send an email

For example:

User's role changes → Send an email notifying them about the change

Once the automation is active, Zapify will automatically send the email whenever a user's role changes.

Why use this automation?

Users may need to know when their access or responsibilities on your website change.

This automation can help you:

Notify users when their role changes
Explain changes to their website access
Inform users when they receive additional permissions
Keep users updated without sending emails manually
Reduce repetitive administrative work

Who can use this?

This automation can be useful for:

Membership websites
Online communities
Client portals
Websites with multiple user roles
Websites where users move between different access levels
Websites where administrators need to notify users about role changes

Before you start

Make sure:

Zapify is installed and activated.
Your website uses WordPress user roles.
Users on your website can have their roles changed.
Your website can send emails successfully.
You know what message you want to send when a role changes.

You do not need to write any code.

Step 1: Create a new automation

Go to the Zapify section in your WordPress dashboard and create a new automation.

Give the automation a name that clearly explains what it does.

For example:

Notify User When Role Changes

Create Automation Button

Automation Name

You can use any name that makes the automation easy to identify later.

Step 2: Choose the trigger

The trigger tells Zapify when the automation should start.

Choose:

Wordpress -> A user's role is changed

Select Wordpress Select "A user's role is changed"

This trigger runs whenever a user's WordPress role is changed.

For example, if a user's role changes from Subscriber to Contributor, Zapify can start the automation.

Step 3: Add the email action

Next, choose what should happen after the user's role changes.

Click Add Action.

Select:

Wordpress -> Send an email

Select Wordpress as Action

Select "Send an Email"

This tells Zapify to send an email whenever the trigger occurs.

Step 4: Choose who should receive the email

The email should normally be sent to the user whose role was changed.

In the Send an email action, use the {} token button to select the email address provided by the role-change trigger.

Send Email To

Using the trigger information means each email goes to the correct user automatically.

You do not need to enter a specific user's email address.

Step 5: Write the notification email

Now write the subject and message you want the user to receive.

For example:

Subject:

Your account role has been updated

Message:

Your account role on our website has been updated.

Please log in to your account to see the changes.

You can personalize the message using information available from the trigger.

For example, you may include the user's name or other available user information.

Send Email Action Content Example

Step 6: Save and set the automation live

Once the trigger and action are configured, save the automation.

A newly created automation is initially a Draft.

A Draft automation will not run when a user's role changes.

Click Set Live at the top to activate it.

Once the automation is live, Zapify will start watching for user role changes.

Step 7: Test the automation

Choose a test user and change their WordPress role.

For example:

Subscriber → Contributor

After the role is changed:

The role change triggers Zapify.
Zapify starts the automation.
The Send an email action runs.
The email is sent to the affected user.

Check the test user's inbox to confirm that the notification was received.

You can also check Zapify's automation run information to confirm that the automation was executed.

Example automation

Your finished automation should look similar to:

A user's role is changed

↓

Send an email

For example:

User's role changes → Send role-change notification

From now on, Zapify will automatically notify the user whenever their role changes.

Common questions

Does the email get sent every time a user's role changes?

Yes.

When the automation is active, each role change that matches the trigger can start the automation.

Can I send the email only to the user whose role changed?

Yes.

Use the user's email information provided by the trigger instead of entering a fixed email address.

Can I customize the notification?

Yes.

You can change the email subject and message to match your website's needs.

You can also use available Zapify tokens to personalize the message.

Can I use this for a specific role change?

Yes, if the trigger configuration provides the role-specific option you need.

For example, Zapify can provide role-related information that can be used when configuring the automation.

Will this change the user's role?

No.

The trigger only detects that the user's role has changed.

The Send an email action only sends the notification.

The role itself must be changed through WordPress or another action.

What happens if the automation is disabled?

Zapify will not run the automation while it is disabled.

Set the automation live when you want role changes to trigger the email.

What if the email does not arrive?

First check that:

The automation is active.
The correct user email information is selected.
The user's role was actually changed.
Your WordPress website can send emails successfully.

You can also check the automation's run information in Zapify.

A simple example

Imagine you run an online community.

A member is promoted from Subscriber to Contributor.

Without Zapify:

Administrator changes role → Administrator manually sends an email

With Zapify:

Administrator changes role → Zapify → Notification email is sent

This keeps users informed without adding another manual task for the administrator.

Summary

Zapify can automatically send an email whenever a WordPress user's role changes.

The automation is simple:

Trigger: A user's role is changed

Action: Send an email

Once the automation is set live, Zapify handles the notification automatically whenever a user's role changes.