Should I give admin access to seller to get website bug fixed?

[mercury11]

Hi All,



I was wondering what other buyer’s experiences were regarding website fixes. If you have a problem or want an add-on etc with your site, this is best done by giving admin access to your site to a total stranger. They might be able to help you and fix your problem but they are given free range in the back end of your site and can do anything they want there.



This seems risky to me. Is this granting of admin access to the developer the norm or can the job be accomplished through screenshots, or some other restricted access approach?



Thanks.

[misscrystal]

For what you are describing I would only hire a Top Rated Seller without any negative feedback who has been on fiverr for years.

You could address your last question to the one you hire. If you have some good knowledge of website coding you could do it through screenshots. He could provide the exact code and you could put it in yourself.

[belengarcia]

It depends on what the seller has to fix. If it is client side stuff (html, css, javascript) he doesn’t need access to your server, as he can access that just by visiting your site.

But if it is some backside code (php, java, ruby,…) he might need it. It depends. You could also provide him a copy of the whole site, and the seller could work on that copy on his own local server. But setting all that up takes time and he probably would need to charge more.
Anyway, if you’re afraid of him installing some malicious code, he could do it anyway on that copy of the code, and you won’t notice when you put it back into your server.

Screenshots won’t work unless it’s a very evident and small glitch, in a very small site. Code usually is too complicated to fix without a lot of testing.

If you decide to provide him admin access, remember to change your passwords afterwards.

[misscrystal]

@belengarcia : Great answer! I hope you set up a gig doing this since you clearly know this subject well and we need some good website developers.

[steveeyes]

If you do give access consider the following

1. Backup your site before giving access

2. Normally you can limit how much access a person has to the backend. When I was running a website, through my cpanel I could limit the access to only a certain part of the server. It takes a little technical knowledge to do this but if you have a good host, contact them for help.

[mercury11]

Thanks for much for the feedback! Much appreciated. I think I will go with screenshots for now and see if that is sufficient to fix the bug. If not, then I will consider some of those other options.

[mgjohn78]

I dont think you should ever give access to anyone you don’t fully trust (especially not if its a business site). Personally i never touch or let anyone touch my live sites code or databases. Instead i recommend running a dev/clone version of your site either offline or on a separate non public server. This way all changes/fixes etc are done on the dev version and you can make sure everything is ok before porting the changes to your live site + you never need to give anyone access to your public live version.
I also recommend documenting any change you do in detail and request the same from anyone else who works on your site.

[belengarcia]

Reply to @misscrystal:
Thanks!! I’m thinking about setting up some web related gig. But the truth is that is very difficult for me to compete with the low rates offered by most sellers in this field on Fiverr. Coding is really time (and brain) consuming. I’m not sure about what I could do for only $5. I may try something after the summer.

[vfranxia]

Most of the stuff I can do myself. The rest… I personally wouldn’t want anyone I don’t know really well to have access to any part of my sites.

Why: It’s so easy for ‘wicked’ people to come to Fiverr and promise tech help and get access to anyone backend. This way they can potentially use your hosting/server for illegal activities.

[vivek]

You can allow access via Remote Desktop Connection provided by Google or any other service provider. You can even record as screen cast for further level of security.

Sheriff’s Note: Self-promotion removed.

[Guest kasijus]

I am working as a developer here, and I don’t remember having a single situation where a client didn’t want to give me access, if it was needed. Even in the situation where I didn’t need access to solve the problem, at the end of the day, they had to provide me with it, because they couldn’t implement the code on their site.

So, it all depends on the specific case and the client’s knowledge about how to handle the code delivered.

But, your question is not quite right. We all do business, and there is something called business ethics, and I’m not talking just about web development or freelancing at all.

What if you order a coffee and the waiter spit in it, or you buy a stolen car and it’s tracked down and you have to return it, or you send your lap top to a repair service and they take some components and put old ones, etc, etc…

Everything is about trust. Sometimes you can protect yourself, sometimes you just have to have trust. Of course, not trust blindly, but just because someone can make you harm, doesn’t mean they will.

[thecreativeguys]

I shared screens when it came to this…

[marilo]

Hi, I use to need access to fix my customers’ request, and I can’t believe they give me that so easily.

If I were the customer I would do the next things before:



1.- Create a backup of the site. If it is a wordpress, “wp clone” plugin works pretty well for that.

2.- Create one administrator account for the developer if it’s a wordpress. So if there is any problem, you’ll could find better who made the dissaster.

3.- If ftp account is needed, I’d create one for the developer, with only access to the folder he needs to fix.

4.- When everything is finished, delete both new accounts, wordpress and ftp

5.- And of course, only hire developers who have superb ratings and who have been in fiverr for a long long time without problems.

[kaushikmakam]

First of all check the reviews of the seller… Make sure that he/she has a good feedback and if you really are still hesitating then there are many alternatives to make the developer work

1. Team viewer
2. Create a developer account with only the permissions required
3. Create a separate ftp account and make sure u have a backup stored in a different location.
   Providing screenshot wont actually help you solve issues but there are chances it might increase… But finally everything depends on the trust…

[philtabest]

Reply to @belengarcia: Not necessarily! If it’s a CSS error it could be an external stylesheet the site uses. In which case viewing page source would show it inline.

The same goes for Javascript too, it could also be external. Unfortunately to troubleshoot the problem you don’t need access, but to fix it you do.

[philtabest]

Unfortunately the majority of the time you do need to give someone access to fix a problem. Personally, what I would do is first check everyone else’s responses regarding feedback.

From there I would check whether my hosting company does routine backups and find out how often they are run. Once you do that, change the password of your account to something that you don’t mind someone else know and then grant access.

[philtabest]

Reply to @philtabest: Most, but not all reputable hosting companies do daily tape backups, as it can be very costly losing company data.

[philtabest]

Reply to @philtabest: Another idea I just thought is, if you feel comfortable FTPing into your webhosting. You could maybe download all the website files, get cheap hosting elsewhere and give him free range. Only problem I can see with that would be if you’re getting database issues.

[marketman]

You’re going to have the same problem via whichever service you use online. I wouild suggest using someone who is as local to you as possible. As well, I was going to advise and saw that marilo had already made the same statements.

One thing I would definitely stay away from is TeamViewer - don’t do it. While you can recover from website mishaps, giving some unknown person access to your PC… nope.

[primeaque86]

It depends. But make sure the buyer has good reputation. You might need to ask certain questions like:

• Is the seller has been on Fiverr for a long time?
• Is the seller has any negative feedback?
• Is the seller professional and trustworthy?

In order to know if you are doing business with a trustworthy seller - try to communicate first, and based on his responses, you could easily tell if he is professional person to hand over critical details.

If you have knowledge about CSS, PHP, or coding - you could actually send a screenshot, or give him a copy of your theme (if you are customizing child themes for example), then ask for documentation so you can check the changes and apply it to your site.

Regards,
Prime

[belengarcia]

Reply to @philtabest: well, I’d send the fixed file to the buyer and he’d upload it to his server himself. I’d never ask for access to do that, unless the buyer wanted me to upload it. But even then an FTP account with access to that particular folder is enough.

[ana2001]

if the seller looks and acts professionally and if it really appears that the sellers is willing to help you out why not.

Just state your terms and let him know that you want this done the right way.

There are nice people here that you can do business with.

Cheers
Ana

[mercury11]

Some really thoughtful replies here. Thanks to all.

One seller I asked accepted screenshots but he didn’t fully understand the problem and couldn’t fix it. So now I am considering a guy with excellent and numerous reviews who wants admin access to fix the problem.

I have to say I am not willing to hand it over so easily. It’s just too risky. It’s not like a waiter who spits in your coffee. (but I do like that analogy!). The downside potential is huge. Maybe the worst thing is if you’re a newbie like me, you may not even know if something is wrong or how to track it back to the person who messed things up.

And that’s the irony. If you’re a newbie, you need to rely on strangers more to help you. But you are that much more incapable of knowing if something is amiss and how to fix it.

Chris

[mary1979]

Ya know I design web marketing and buyers give me access to things all the time. I think if you are comfortable with a person than it is not an issue, but if you have sensitive information, I would be more careful. I think reading reviews on a seller is important too. If they are a successful seller already and have done the same work for other people, than they might be more trust worthy. It all depends on the circumstances.