System Users vs Website Users
System Users vs Website Users
Frappe has two fundamentally different user types. Knowing the distinction matters for both access control and billing on managed plans.
The two types
| Type | What | Login destination | Counted on managed plans? |
|---|---|---|---|
| System User | Internal staff who use the desk | Desk (/app) |
Yes — counts against your seat licence |
| Website User | Customers, suppliers, candidates using the portal | Portal pages (/me, /orders, etc.) |
No — unlimited on most plans |
User Type is set on the User record at creation. Switching afterwards requires manual cleanup of permissions and references.
When to use Website User
- Customers logging into the portal to view their invoices, orders, statements
- Suppliers viewing purchase orders or submitting bids
- Job candidates filling out applications
- Anyone who shouldn't see the internal desk
When to use System User
- Employees of your organisation
- Consultants you've onboarded
- Anyone who needs to create / edit DocTypes via the desk
Permissions still apply on top
"Website User" is not a weaker rank — it's a user type. You still assign Roles to control what data they can access. A Website User with the right role can use API endpoints; a System User with no roles can do nothing.
Portal access for Website Users
A Website User needs three things to use the portal:
- The Website User type (set at creation)
- Roles that grant access to the portal DocTypes they need (
Customer,Supplier,Employee, …) - An entry in the linked party's
portal_userschild table — so a customer-user sees only that customer's data
Missing any of the three = login works but no data appears.
Switching a user from Website to System
Possible via desk: User → User Type → System User. Caution — the user now consumes a seat. The reverse (System → Website) requires removing System User-only roles first.
Auditing
System Settings → User Type lists the current split. Useful before billing renews or before purging stale users.