Whether you’re a marketing manager, part of a communications, fundraising or sales team, or you look after the content on the company’s website as part of a wider team, you’ll already know how important it is to keep your site running smoothly. Marketing performs better, customers trust you, your team can get on with their jobs.
This post is here to help you keep your website stable, secure and fully functional, by sharing what we’ve learned from years of building, maintaining and, occasionally, rescuing WordPress websites.
Why admin access needs consideration
WordPress gives you different user roles for different tasks for good reasons. Administrator access is the top level of access and it allows someone to install plugins, edit code and, in some cases, easily undo years of careful work in just a few clicks.
In the wrong hands, admin access can be damaging to any organisation, which means it needs to be handled responsibly.
Over time, we’ve found that keeping admin access focused and intentional is one of the simplest ways to keep a website healthy, and this means limiting admin access to only technical users, i.e. those responsible for the technical maintenance of the website. Content editors should have Editor, Author or Shop Manager permissions and if the site is built correctly, those users will be able to do everything they need to without feeling restricted.
When does admin access get requested
Admin access is usually handed out or requested with good intentions. You might recognise a few of these scenarios:
- A plugin needs installing quickly
- A third-party supplier asks for full access to “get things working”
- Someone internal needs to “just update something”
- Access is granted temporarily… and then never reviewed
Individually, these decisions feel small and reasonable. But they can easily result in bigger problems.
How mistakes can occur with admin access in the wrong hands
Considering the scenarios above, below are just a few examples of how things can go wrong as a result:
- The plugin that needed installing quickly turned out to be outdated and it slowed the site down, or it actually wasn’t compatible with one of the other plugins and something broke. More seriously, the plugin was created by a rogue developer allowing malware onto the site, resulting in a data breach.
- The third party supplier thought they could get things working but got out of their depth and accidentally broke the site, meaning expertise needed to be sought elsewhere. In the meantime, the site was offline to its customers, affecting sales.
- The internal team member only needed to update a simple piece of content, but with admin permissions they discovered they could ‘play around’ with some settings, then the site stopped being able to take orders and the team member didn’t know how to correct the mistake.
- A temporary admin account falls into the wrong hands after a team member leaves. The access to the site is used to install ransomware and company is faced with the prospect of paying a ransom in order to get their website back.
What we’ve learned from taking over broken sites
We’re often brought in when a website isn’t performing as it should. That might look like slow load times or things not working properly. Sometimes, after a bit more investigation, we uncover something more serious like malware or long-standing vulnerabilities that can lead to malware or a data breach.
In many cases we’re able to pin-point precisely where things went wrong. Often it’s the installation of a dodgy plugin which lead to a curious line of code appearing, tucked away ready to trigger a more sinister event at a later date.
In some cases it’s not possible to determine the cause, and sometimes the only option available is to re-build the entire site and associated systems. A good example of this is the M&S Cyber Attack in April 2025, customer personal data was stolen and online orders were paused for nearly two months, ultimately costing M&S around £300 million in lost profits.
The hidden risks most teams don’t consider
Beyond the technical issues, there’s also a less visible side to admin access: accountability.
If a website is compromised and it turns out access wasn’t properly controlled, insurers may decide that reasonable care wasn’t taken. In some cases, that can affect whether a claim is paid.
It’s not something most teams think about day-to-day but it becomes very real when something goes wrong, especially where customer data or payments are involved.
A simpler, safer way to manage admin access
The good news is this doesn’t need to be complicated. In our experience, the most effective approach is also the simplest:
- Keep Administrator access limited to those who maintain the site (WordPress Core and plugins)
- Use Editor or Author permission roles for day-to-day tasks
- Shop Manager permissions for product editors
- SEO Manager permissions for SEO team members
- Have a clear process for making higher-level changes, like code changes or plugin installs.
As a web partner, this is something we actively help manage. If something needs admin-level input, whether that’s plugins, configuration or user management – we’re always happy to handle it as part of our role and partnership.
Well-managed admin access removes a lot of risk from your website.
It may not be the most visible or exciting part of running a website, but it’s one of the most valuable. It helps you to:
- Reduce the likelihood of hacks and malware
- Protect sensitive data and your customers/visitors
- Maintain compliance and insurance safeguards
- Avoid accidental changes that lead to downtime
- Keep your site stable, secure and easier to maintain long-term
What our clients say
Let’s talk about your website’s security.
Get in touch