Overview
This article explains how to grant a website developer access to your domain at DreamHost.
Background
It may be necessary at some point to hire a developer to work on your website. There are a few different ways a developer may require access to your site in order to work on it, as described below.
The access and credentials you grant a developer depend on exactly what tools they need to complete the job you hired them for.
Make sure you're only giving them the basic level of access they require.
Types of access
The following are the different types of access a developer may need access to.
Panel access
If a developer only needs access to your DreamHost panel, you can just grant them Account Privileges.
This allows you to grant a single user access to specific pages in your panel. Make sure you remove the Account Privileges when the developer no longer requires access.
Server access to the website
For security purposes, DreamHost implements a One user per domain policy. This ensures that only a single username has access to a domain on the server.
This means that you must give the developer the username and password credentials of your website user in order to log into the server and work on your site.
Make sure you trust your developer before sharing your website credentials!!!
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Create a new user on the server for the developer.
This user should only have access to the single domain they will be working on.
- Move your website to use this new username. Make sure you select the option to move files to the new user.
- Share the new credentials with your website developer.
- When the website developer is finished updating your site, move the website back to the original username. This ensures only you have access again to your site.
- Delete the user you created for the developer.
DreamPress sites
It's not possible to change the username assigned to a DreamPress site. If you need a developer to work on your DreamPress site, you should first update your user's password.
When the developer is finished with their work, update the password again to ensure only you have access.
Database access
A developer may also need access to the database your website uses. If so, you should always first create a new database user for the developer. This allows them to log in with their own username and password.
Make sure to then delete the user when the developer no longer requires access.
WordPress (or another CMS)
Developers may require access to the software application your website users. This is most often a Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress.
If so, they may only require the login credentials for the software program itself and NOT the website user's credentials used to log into the server. In this case, you can create a new user in your CMS for the developer. View the following links for further details:
Make sure to then delete the new user when the developer no longer requires access.