How to Make Roles on Discord (Permissions and Role Order)

Roles are how a Discord server decides who's who. A role can give people a coloured name, open up private channels, let trusted members moderate, or simply label someone as a customer, a student or a speaker. Without roles, everyone in a server has the same powers, which gets messy the moment a community grows past a handful of friends.

Making a role takes under a minute. The part that trips people up is the order roles sit in, because that order decides who can manage whom. Below I'll cover creating a role, choosing its permissions, giving it to members, and how the role list ranks everyone, all based on Discord's own help articles.

Who can make roles on Discord

You'll need to be the server owner or have a role with the Manage Roles permission. Discord's help adds an important limit: members with Manage Roles can only edit roles that sit below their own highest role, and they can only grant permissions they already have themselves. So a moderator can't create a role more powerful than their own.

Making a new role on Discord on a computer

Discord's Setting Up Permissions FAQ gives this path:

1. Open your server and click the server name at the top left to open the menu.
2. Choose Server Settings.
3. Click Roles in the list on the left.
4. Click Create Role.
5. Type a name for the role, such as Moderator, VIP or Course Members.
6. Pick a colour if you'd like members with this role to stand out.
7. Open the Permissions tab and switch on what this role should be able to do.
8. Save your changes.

On the phone app, the same Roles section sits inside Server Settings, though menus vary by app version and some options are easier to reach on a computer.

Choosing permissions when you make a Discord role

Discord's help says the @everyone role works as the template for all new roles. In other words, whatever @everyone can do, a new role starts out able to do as well, and you add extra powers on top. A few permissions deserve extra care:

Permission	What it lets people do	My advice
Administrator	Grants every permission and bypasses all channel restrictions	Give it only to people you'd trust with the whole server
Manage Roles	Create and edit roles below their own	Keep it for senior moderators
Manage Server	Change server settings and add apps	Owner and co-owners only
Kick and Ban Members	Remove people from the server	For your moderation team

Start with the fewest permissions a role needs and add more later. It's much easier than taking powers away from someone who's got used to having them.

Giving a role to members on Discord

A role does nothing until someone holds it. Discord's help describes two ways to hand one out:

• From the role itself: in Server Settings, open Roles, select the role and go to its Manage Members area. Add the people who should have it.
• From a member's profile: click someone's name or avatar in the server, then use the plus sign in the roles section of their profile card and pick the role.

You can give one person several roles. Their name takes the colour of their highest-positioned role, according to Discord's help, which leads neatly to the bit that confuses most new server owners.

How the Discord role order works

Roles are listed from top to bottom in Server Settings, and that list is a ranking. Discord's help explains:

• New roles are placed near the bottom, just above @everyone, until you drag them higher.
• Members can only manage, kick or ban people whose highest role is lower than their own.
• Someone with Manage Roles can't edit a role that's level with or above their own highest role.
• Your name colour comes from your highest role that has a colour.

So if you make a Moderator role and leave it at the bottom of the list, your moderators won't be able to act on members who hold any role above it. Drag the role into the right place by clicking and holding it in the Roles list, then save.

Bots follow the same rule. If a role or moderation bot can't hand out a role, it's usually because the bot's own role sits below the one it's trying to give.

Using Discord roles to open up private channels

Roles really prove their worth when you pair them with channels. Discord's help says channel permissions override the server-wide permissions a role has. That means you can:

1. Open a channel's settings and go to Permissions.
2. Stop @everyone from viewing the channel.
3. Allow your chosen role to view it.

Now only people with that role see the channel. This is how course creators run a members-only area, how businesses keep a staff room private, and how communities give speakers their own green room. If you also run updates on WhatsApp, my guide to creating a WhatsApp channel shows the one-to-many option there.

Role ideas for creators and small business Discord servers

If you're setting up a server for your audience, a simple starter set might be:

• Owner or Team: you and your staff, with broad permissions.
• Moderator: trusted helpers who can manage messages and members.
• Members or Customers: people who've joined your course, programme or club, with access to private channels.
• Guest: new arrivals who can read the welcome channel until they're verified.

Keep the list short. A dozen roles nobody understands is harder to manage than four with clear jobs. The same goes for admins in group chats on other apps: my guide to adding someone to a WhatsApp group covers how group admins work there.

If your new Discord role isn't working

• The role is too low. Drag it above the roles it needs to manage.
• A channel setting overrides it. Check the channel's Permissions for a rule that blocks this role.
• You forgot to save. Look for the prompt to save changes before you leave the settings screen.
• The member doesn't have it. Open their profile and check the role is listed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make roles on Discord?

Go to Server Settings, then Roles, then Create Role. Name the role, choose a colour, set its permissions on the Permissions tab and save. Then give it to members.

Why can't I give someone a role on Discord?

Usually because the role sits level with or above your own highest role. You can only manage roles below yours, so ask the owner to move your role higher.

What does the @everyone role do on Discord?

It's the base role every member has, and Discord's help says it works as the template for new roles. Anything @everyone can do, everyone in the server can do.

How do I make a private channel for one role?

Open the channel's Permissions, stop @everyone from viewing it and allow your chosen role to view it. Channel permissions override server permissions.

Can I make Discord roles on my phone?

Yes, through Server Settings and Roles in the mobile app, though menus vary by app version and some options are easier to find on a computer.