Give us cPanel / shared hosting access
How to securely share access to your cPanel hosting environment for deep technical optimizations and file management.
cPanel is a popular control panel used by many shared hosting providers (Bluehost and HostGator both use it). To make advanced performance optimizations, manage your database, or adjust server-level settings, we need access to your cPanel dashboard.
Not every host uses cPanel
Some hosts have replaced cPanel with their own panel. SiteGround, for example, now uses Site Tools instead. If your hosting dashboard doesn't mention cPanel anywhere, tell us what you see and we'll tell you what we need.
Full cPanel login
What we can reach
Your entire hosting environment, the "keys to the kingdom".
How you share it
Often the main cPanel password, sent through a secure, self-destructing link.
When the project ends
Change your cPanel password.
FTP and database user
What we can reach
An FTP account for the website's folder, and the WordPress database.
How you share it
You or your IT team create these secondary accounts for us.
Best for
Teams that prefer not to share the master cPanel password.
See the FTP and database alternative for exactly what we need.
How to share your cPanel access safely
Because cPanel provides the "keys to the kingdom" for your entire hosting environment, sharing these credentials requires strict security hygiene.
Locate your cPanel login URL. This is usually found in the welcome email from your hosting provider, or by logging into your hosting provider's own dashboard and following its cPanel link. Some hosts sign you straight in from there with your hosting-account login, so there may be no separate cPanel password at all.
Identify your username and password. Make sure you have the correct cPanel username and password ready.
Use a secure sharing tool. Go to a free, encrypted service like Onetime Secret. Paste only your password into the secret content box and generate a secure link.
Send us the details. On your support ticket (support portal), provide the cPanel Login URL and your Username in plain text, and paste the secure link for the password. Never email the password itself.
For a more detailed walkthrough on this security protocol, read our guide on sharing passwords safely.
Alternative: Create an FTP & Database User
If you have an in-house IT team and prefer not to share your master cPanel password, you can manually create secondary accounts for our team to use.
Technical alternative
If you choose this route, we will need you to provide us with two things: 1.
An FTP Account routed to the public_html (or root) directory of the
website. 2. Access to phpMyAdmin or a remote database connection with full
privileges to the specific WordPress database.
Note that cPanel's User Manager is not a substitute here. The Subaccounts it creates can only use FTP, Web Disk and Webmail; they cannot log in to cPanel.
There is one proper delegation feature, Manage Team (cPanel » Home » Preferences » Manage Team), which can create a team user with an Administrator role who can log in to cPanel. It isn't available on every cPanel license, and hosts can switch it off, so ask your host whether your plan has it before you count on it.
Common questions
Why is cPanel access necessary if you already have WordPress admin access?
WordPress admin access only lets us control the website itself. cPanel
access allows us to control the server the website lives on. We need this
to edit core server files (like the .htaccess file for security), manage
DNS records in the Zone Editor, restore part of your site from a cPanel
backup, and optimize server-level caching. One limit worth knowing: cPanel
can't restore a full account backup on its own. That has to go through your
host.
What should I do when your project is finished?
Because you had to share a master password with us, standard security protocols dictate that you should log into your hosting provider and change your cPanel password as soon as our engagement concludes.
Related guides
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