Delegate access lets you grant other people access to manage your Hostney hosting account without sharing your login credentials. Your developer, your agency, or a team member gets their own login that can manage your hosting on your behalf. You control who has access and can revoke it at any time.
Common use cases:
- Hiring a developer or agency to work on your website
- Giving a team member access to manage hosting infrastructure
- Granting temporary access to a contractor for a specific project
Delegates can manage most hosting features (websites, DNS, databases, SSL, backups, etc.) but cannot access billing, payment methods, or account security settings.
Inviting someone#
Step 1: Open delegate access
Sign in at my.hostney.com and navigate to My profile > Delegate access.
You’ll see two sections:
- Accounts I can access — accounts other people have shared with you
- People who can access my account — people you’ve granted access to
Step 2: Send an invitation
Click the Invite user button in the info panel at the top.
In the modal that appears, enter the email address of the person you want to invite and click Send.
If the person already has a Hostney account: They receive an email notification and a pending invitation appears in their delegate access page. They need to sign in and accept it.
If the person doesn’t have a Hostney account: They receive an email with a direct invitation link. The email explains that they need to create a free Hostney account to accept. Once they register using the same email address, the invitation is automatically linked and accepted.
Invitations expire after 24 hours. If the person doesn’t accept in time, you’ll need to send a new invitation. You can send up to 5 pending invitations to unregistered users per 24-hour period.
Step 3: Check the status
Back on your delegate access page, the “People who can access my account” section shows the current state of each invitation:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active (green) | Invitation accepted, user has access |
| Pending (orange) | Invitation sent to a registered user, waiting for acceptance |
| Awaiting registration (blue) | Invitation sent to an unregistered email, waiting for them to create an account |
Accepting an invitation#
If someone has invited you to access their account:
Step 1: Check your email
You’ll receive an email from Hostney with the subject indicating you’ve been invited. If you already have a Hostney account, the email directs you to sign in. If you don’t have an account yet, the email contains a direct link to create one.
Step 2: Accept the invitation
Sign in at my.hostney.com and go to My profile > Delegate access.
Under “Accounts I can access,” you’ll see the pending invitation with the account owner’s name. Click Accept.
A confirmation dialog asks you to confirm. Click Accept to proceed.
The status changes from “Pending” to “Active” and you can now access the account.
Note: If you’re a new user who created your account through the invitation link, the invitation is accepted automatically when you register. You’ll see the account listed as “Active” immediately.
Step 3: Access the account
Once the invitation is active, click Access next to the account owner’s name.
A confirmation dialog appears. Click Access to switch into delegate mode.
When you’re in delegate mode:
- An orange banner appears at the top of every page showing “Signed in as [account owner’s name]”
- You can manage the account’s hosting features as if it were your own
- Billing, payment methods, and security settings are not accessible
- You can only be in one delegate session at a time
Step 4: Exit delegate mode
Click the X button on the orange banner at the top of the page. You’re immediately returned to your own account.
Revoking access#
If you no longer want someone to have access to your account:
For active or pending invitations
- Go to My profile > Delegate access
- Find the person in the “People who can access my account” section
- Click Revoke from the dropdown menu
- Confirm by clicking Revoke in the dialog
Access is removed immediately. The person can no longer switch to your account.
For pending registration invitations
If you invited someone who hasn’t created a Hostney account yet and you want to cancel:
- Find the email in the “People who can access my account” section (status: “Awaiting registration”)
- Click Cancel from the dropdown menu
- Confirm by clicking Cancel invitation
The invitation link in their email becomes invalid immediately.
What delegates can and cannot do#
Full access
Delegates have full access to manage your hosting environment:
- View dashboard and account overview
- Manage websites, subdomains, and DNS records
- Configure databases (MySQL)
- Manage FTP users
- View and configure SSL certificates
- Set up cron jobs
- View traffic statistics
- Configure firewall and bot detection settings
- Create and manage Git repositories
- View and restore backups
- Manage redirects (301/302)
- Configure WordPress settings
- Manage Nginx caching
- View error, access, and PHP logs
- View audit logs
- Manage SSH keys
Restricted
Delegates cannot access:
- Billing and invoices
- Payment methods
- Account contact information
- Subscription management
- Domain registration
- Profile and security settings
- Granting access to other users
Tips#
For agencies managing multiple clients: Each client invites your team email. You’ll see all client accounts listed in “Accounts I can access” and can switch between them without logging in and out.
For temporary access: Invite the contractor when the project starts. Revoke access when the project is complete. There’s no need to change any passwords.
One session at a time: You can only be in one delegate session at a time. If you try to access a second account while already in delegate mode, you’ll be prompted to exit the current session first.
Invitations expire: Both registered and unregistered invitations expire after 24 hours. If the person misses the window, send a new invitation.
If you need help with delegate access, contact our support team.