Wordpress freelancer question. Please helpppp

749186a0 · ‎04-16-2020

my Freelancer asked....Can you please provide admin privileges to my wordpress account account. He said I need to have the ability to install plugins. Is this ok and safe for me to do??

AveryO · ‎04-20-2020

Hi Lois,

I'm sorry for missing to respond to your post. I'm not familiar with web development projects, but I found these great articles here, and here in our Hiring Headquarters for more information about securing your Wordpress website. Hopefully this helps you decide on how you can move forward with your project with your freelancer.

~ Avery

749186a0 · ‎04-22-2020

Thank you but that did not answer my question. Is it ok to give him my password for Admin access to the back end of my website?

versailles · ‎04-22-2020

Lois M wrote:
Thank you but that did not answer my question. Is it ok to give him my password for Admin access to the back end of my website?

I wouldn't. Or I would put a copy of the site on a test server before.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light" —William Ashbless

yitwail · ‎04-22-2020

Rene K wrote:
Lois M wrote:
Thank you but that did not answer my question. Is it ok to give him my password for Admin access to the back end of my website?
I wouldn't. Or I would put a copy of the site on a test server before.

Lois, the test server idea is a good one; you could mention it to your freelancer, if you can make a test server without his help that is. The request for admin login can be entirely legit; my clients allow me to do this regularly. On the other hand, I've made $__k on the platform with 100% JSS and 1400 hours, so if the freelancer has a long work history and great reviews it might be safe to do so. The final alternative is to make a full backup of the site, then temporarily give him administrator privileges, then let the freelancer install the plugins, after which you can revert his account to contributor.

__________________________________________________
"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce

prestonhunter · ‎04-22-2020

It is common for clients to provide admin passwords and other root credentials to freelancers who are working on their behalf.

It is also common for clients to NOT do so, and instead to let freelancers work on a test server. Or clients may let freelancers set up their own test server.

An important thing to keep in mind is that this is all between clients and freelancers.

Upwork certainly makes no guarantees about the skill or honesty of any freelancer. If a freelancer does anything untoward, or is simply incompetent and messes things up, that is not something that Upwork is party to. And Upwork can not fix any problems caused by freelancers.

shefen · ‎04-22-2020

Yes, it's common to get admin or root access in order to work on web sites. Many times my proposal will state explicitly the I'll need root access. Each client will have to decide for themselves how much access to their site to give a freelancer.

It's best to have a complete backup of the site before anyone does any significant work.

The host's control panel usually provides a way to create a backup. That said, 99 times out of 100, the client doesn't have any backup and I have to make it myself before starting work.

Someone mentioned creating a test server, this is easier said than done with WordPress. Records in the database have to be modified for the new domain name, then modified again to export the changes to the live site. There are WordPress plugins that help with this, but of course admin access to WordPress is required to install a plugin, so you're back to giving someone admin access or doing it yourself.

Don't forget to change passwords once the work has been completed.