How to Give Your Agency Access to Your Online Store

The short answer: You can give an agency or freelancer access to your online store without sharing your password. In Shopify, approve a collaborator request (for Shopify Partners) or add a staff user. In WooCommerce, add a WordPress user with the Shop Manager role. In Wix Stores, invite a collaborator with the Store Manager role. In Squarespace Commerce, invite a contributor with Store manager permissions. Give only the permissions the job needs, keep ownership and payment settings to yourself, and remove access when the work ends.

Your store holds customer details, orders and payment settings, so it deserves more care than almost any other account you own. This guide is part of our series on how to give your agency access without sharing passwords.

Before you start

Run through this short checklist first.

• Confirm you can log in as the store owner and that two-step verification is on for your own login.
• Ask what the work involves: products and pages, orders and customers, apps and settings, or marketing. That decides the permissions.
• Get the email address your agency gives you for invitations (or, for Shopify collaborators, their Partner request).
• Decide who should never touch payouts, payment processors or billing. In most cases, that is everyone except you.
• Note the date work should end so you remember to remove access.

How do I give an agency access to my Shopify store?

Most agencies and developers are Shopify Partners, so the best route is a collaborator account. Collaborators don’t count toward your store’s user limit, must use two-step authentication, can’t be made store owner and can’t be given the Administrator role. Staff accounts are for people who work in your business day to day, and they aren’t available on every plan.

Option 1: Approve a collaborator request

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Users.
2. Click Users & permissions (or Users if your store is part of an organization), then click Security.
3. Click the 4-digit collaborator request code to copy it, and send it to your agency.
4. Your agency submits a request from their Partner account using that code.
5. Back in Settings > Users, click the Requests status and open the request.
6. In the Roles section, review the permissions. Remove anything they don’t need, or assign an existing role instead.
7. Click Accept request.

Option 2: Add a staff user

1. Go to Settings > Users and click Add users.
2. Make sure Admin user is selected, then enter the email address they give you and click Add.
3. Leave the Secure sign-in method toggle on so two-step authentication is required.
4. In the Roles section, click Assign and pick or create a role with limited permissions.
5. Click Save. The invitation expires in 7 days if it isn’t accepted.

Stores on the Basic or Starter plan can’t add staff users, so a collaborator account is usually the answer there. To remove a collaborator, open their name under Users and use the remove option (labeled Remove [name] or Actions > Remove, depending on your setup). Collaborator access also lapses if they don’t log in for 90 days. Official help: Shopify collaborator accounts.

How do I give someone access to my WooCommerce store?

WooCommerce runs inside WordPress, so you add a WordPress user and give them the Shop Manager role. Shop Manager can manage products, orders, coupons, reports and WooCommerce settings without full Administrator access to the rest of your site. Only choose Administrator if the person also needs to install plugins, change themes or manage other users.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Users > Add New User (older versions label it Add New).
3. Enter a username and the email address your agency gives you, and let them set their own password through the notification email.
4. From the Role drop-down, choose Shop Manager.
5. Click Add New User.
6. To change an existing user’s role, go to Users > All Users, select the user and choose Shop Manager from the Role drop-down.
7. When the work ends, delete the user from All Users and assign their content to yourself.

Shop Managers can see customer and order details and process refunds, so only give the role to people you trust with that information. Our website and hosting access guide covers your host and domain if they also need those. Official help: WooCommerce roles and capabilities.

How do I give someone access to my Wix store?

Invite them as a site collaborator and assign the Store Manager role. Store Manager can view and manage products, categories, orders, sales channels, store settings, shipping and tax. Admin (Co-Owner) adds billing and the ability to invite others, which an agency rarely needs.

1. Go to your site’s dashboard and open Roles & Permissions (where it appears in the menu can vary by dashboard version).
2. Click Invite Collaborators.
3. Enter the email address your agency gives you.
4. Check Store Manager (under the Stores roles). Add Website Manager only if they also edit and publish site pages.
5. Click Send Invites.
6. When work ends, return to Roles & Permissions and remove the collaborator.

Wix keeps some actions owner-only no matter the role. Collaborators can’t refund through Wix Payments, open the Wix Payments dashboard, buy shipping labels or transfer the site, so plan for those tasks to stay with you. Wix also has a separate Store Manager role for Point of Sale; make sure you pick the Stores one. Official help: Roles & Permissions: an overview.

How do I give someone access to my Squarespace store?

Invite them as a contributor and turn on Store manager. Store managers can add and reorder products, fulfill, cancel and refund orders, and invoice clients, but they can’t change shipping, tax or currency settings, connect a payment processor or create discounts. Website editor is a lighter option for someone who only edits products and page content.

1. Log in and open the Permissions & Ownership panel.
2. Click Invite Contributor.
3. Enter your agency’s name and the email address they give you.
4. Turn on the Store manager toggle (and Website editor if they also edit pages).
5. Click Invite. Track it under Invites Sent.
6. To remove a contributor later, open the same panel, click their name and remove their access.

Reserve Administrator for someone rebuilding your whole store, since it can do almost everything you can except transfer ownership. Official help: Contributor roles and permissions.

Which permissions does an agency actually need?

It depends on the job, and the answer is almost never “everything.” Here is a simple way to think about it.

• Store SEO or content: products, collections or categories, pages and blog posts. No orders, customers or payments.
• Design or theme work: themes, pages and store design. Apps only if they install them.
• Full store build or migration: broader access, including apps and settings, for the length of the project.
• Order support: orders and customers, but not payouts or payment providers.

If you’re preparing your catalog for AI shopping assistants, our guide on whether your online store is ready for AI shopping explains which product details matter most.

Common mistakes

• Sharing the owner login. On a store, that exposes payouts, customer data and billing at once, with no record of who did what.
• Accepting a Shopify collaborator request without reviewing it. The request may ask for more sections than the job needs. Trim it before you accept.
• Making a store helper a WordPress Administrator. Shop Manager covers day-to-day WooCommerce work.
• Letting someone else own the store. The store, domain and payment accounts should be in your business name, with the agency invited in.
• Leaving old access in place. Review your user and collaborator lists after every project and remove anyone who no longer needs in.

Frequently asked questions

Should my agency be a Shopify collaborator or a staff user?

A collaborator, if they are a Shopify Partner. It doesn’t use one of your staff seats, it requires two-step authentication, and it can’t become the store owner.

Can a store manager see my payouts or bank details?

Generally no, but it depends on the platform and role. Squarespace store managers can’t connect a payment processor, and Wix collaborators can’t open the Wix Payments dashboard. In Shopify, check the role’s permission summary before saving.

Do I need to give my agency access to my payment processor?

Usually not. Store setup, SEO and design rarely require it. If someone asks, ask what exactly they need to do there; you can often handle that single step yourself.

What happens to my store if I stop working with an agency?

Nothing, as long as you own the account. Remove their collaborator or user access and everything stays exactly as it was. That is the main reason never to let an agency set up a store in its own name.

At Ambition Business Solutions we build and grow stores this way, with you as the owner from day one and only the access each task needs. Learn more about our online store design services, or book a free strategy call to talk through your store.