Add and Remove Ecwid Staff Users

Ecwid allows you to add staff members to help manage your store with different permission levels. This guide covers the complete user management workflow.

User Types in Ecwid

1. Store Owner

Characteristics:

• Original account creator
• Full access to everything
• Cannot be removed or changed
• Receives all critical notifications
• Billing and plan management

Limitations:

• Only one owner per store
• Owner account cannot be transferred (must contact Ecwid support)

2. Staff Member

Characteristics:

• Added by owner or admin
• Configurable permissions
• Can be removed anytime
• Own login credentials
• Access specific features based on permissions

Plans:

• Free/Venture: Up to 1 staff member
• Business: Up to 5 staff members
• Unlimited: Up to 100 staff members

3. App Developer (API Access)

Characteristics:

• Technical users building integrations
• API access only (not Control Panel)
• Managed via API keys
• Cannot access customer data directly

Adding Staff Members

Prerequisites

Ecwid plan requirements:

• Venture plan or higher
• Available staff slots

Information needed:

• Staff member's email address
• Desired permissions
• Staff member's name

Step-by-Step: Add Staff Member

1. Access User Management

   • Log in to my.ecwid.com
   • Go to Settings → General → Staff
   • Click Add staff member

2. Enter Staff Information

   Email: Enter staff member's email

   • Must be valid email they can access
   • Will receive invitation email
   • Cannot use email already associated with another Ecwid account

   Name: Enter full name

   • First and last name
   • Helps identify user in activity logs

3. Set Permissions

   Choose permission level (see Roles and Permissions for details):

   Quick permission sets:

   Full Access:

   • All features except:
     • Changing plan/billing
     • Deleting store
     • Managing owner account

   Custom Permissions:

   • Select specific features:
     • ☑ Orders
     • ☑ Products
     • ☑ Customers
     • ☑ Marketing
     • ☑ Design
     • ☑ Reports
     • ☐ Settings (usually restricted)

   See detailed permission options in next section.

4. Send Invitation

   • Click Send invitation
   • Email sent to staff member
   • Invitation expires in 14 days

5. Staff Member Accepts

   Staff member receives email:

   • Subject: "You're invited to manage [Store Name]"
   • Click Accept Invitation
   • Create Ecwid account or log in to existing
   • Set password if new account
   • Access store immediately

Invitation Not Received?

Common issues:

Email in spam folder:

• Check spam/junk folders
• Add noreply@ecwid.com to contacts

Wrong email address:

• Delete invitation
• Re-send to correct email

Email already used:

• Staff member already has Ecwid account
• They must log in with that account to accept

Resend invitation:

1. Settings → General → Staff
2. Find pending invitation
3. Click Resend invitation

Permission Levels Explained

Available Permissions

Recommended Permission Sets

Customer Support Staff

Grant:

• ✓ Orders (edit, fulfill, refund)
• ✓ Customers (view, edit)
• ✓ Products (view only, to answer questions)
• ✓ Discount Coupons (to issue discounts for issues)

Don't grant:

• ✗ Settings
• ✗ Design
• ✗ Apps

Marketing Team

Grant:

• ✓ Products (to create campaigns)
• ✓ Customers (to segment)
• ✓ Discount Coupons
• ✓ Marketing
• ✓ Reports

Don't grant:

• ✗ Orders (unless needed)
• ✗ Settings
• ✗ Design

Product Manager

Grant:

• ✓ Products (full access)
• ✓ Orders (view to understand performance)
• ✓ Reports
• ✓ Customers (view to understand audience)

Don't grant:

• ✗ Settings
• ✗ Design
• ✗ Marketing (unless part of role)

Store Manager

Grant:

• ✓ Full access to all features

Don't grant:

• ✗ Billing/plan changes (owner only)

Developer/Designer

Consider using API access instead if they only need technical access:

• Settings → General → API
• Generate API keys
• No access to customer data
• Can't make unauthorized changes

If Control Panel access needed:

• ✓ Design (for designers)
• ✓ Apps (for developers)
• ✓ Products (view, to test)
• ✗ Orders, Customers (use test data)
• ✗ Settings

Changing Staff Permissions

1. Settings → General → Staff
2. Find staff member
3. Click name
4. Update permissions
5. Save changes

Changes take effect immediately - staff member may need to refresh page.

Removing Staff Members

Step-by-Step: Remove Staff

1. Access Staff Management

   • Settings → General → Staff

2. Find Staff Member

   • Locate user to remove

3. Remove Access

   • Click user name
   • Click Remove staff member
   • Confirm removal

4. Verify Removal

   • User removed from list
   • User can no longer access store
   • User receives no notification (optional: notify manually)

What Happens When Staff Removed

Immediate effects:

• Access revoked instantly
• Cannot log in to Control Panel
• Cannot access API (if had API keys)

User account:

• Ecwid account remains (can access other stores)
• Email address can be used for new invitations

Data retention:

• Activity logs remain (shows "Former staff member")
• Changes made remain in place

Best Practices for Removal

Before removing:

1. Document their work - Note what they managed
2. Transfer ownership - Reassign responsibilities
3. Change passwords - If they had shared accounts
4. Revoke API access - Delete any API keys they used
5. Review permissions - Audit what they could access

After removing:

1. Notify team - Let others know about change
2. Review recent activity - Check their last actions
3. Update processes - Adjust workflows if needed

Emergency Removal

If compromised account or immediate threat:

1. Remove immediately (don't wait)
2. Change store passwords
3. Review recent changes:
   • Orders processed
   • Products edited
   • Settings changed
4. Check for:
   • Unauthorized discounts
   • Fraudulent orders
   • Data exports
5. Contact Ecwid support if suspicious activity found

Managing Multiple Staff

Staff Activity Monitoring

View staff activity:

1. Settings → General → Staff
2. Activity log (if available on your plan)

What's tracked:

• Login times
• Actions taken
• Changes made

Use cases:

• Audit trail
• Performance review
• Security monitoring

Team Communication

Built-in staff notes:

• Add notes to orders for staff communication
• Use internal comments for coordination

External tools:

• Slack for team chat
• Asana/Trello for task management
• Google Workspace for shared documents

Access Schedule

For temporary staff (seasonal, contractors):

Before season:

1. Add staff
2. Set limited permissions
3. Train on systems

After season:

1. Remove access
2. Export reports if needed
3. Document for next season

Don't leave inactive accounts - security risk.

Security Best Practices

1. Principle of Least Privilege

Only grant permissions necessary for job:

• Start minimal
• Add permissions as needed
• Review regularly

2. Regular Access Reviews

Monthly:

• List all staff members
• Verify permissions are appropriate
• Check for unused accounts
• Confirm job roles unchanged

Quarterly:

• Deep audit of all access
• Review activity logs
• Update permissions based on performance
• Remove former employees

3. Offboarding Process

When employee leaves:

1. Day 1: Remove Ecwid access
2. Week 1: Review their last 30 days of activity
3. Month 1: Ensure processes transferred
4. Quarter 1: Final audit of their work

4. Require Strong Passwords

Staff should use:

• 12+ characters
• Mix of letters, numbers, symbols
• Unique password (not reused)
• Password manager

You cannot enforce - but educate staff on importance.

5. Monitor for Suspicious Activity

Watch for:

• Logins from unusual locations
• Bulk data exports
• Unusual refund activity
• Large discounts created
• Settings changes

If detected:

1. Remove access immediately
2. Contact staff member
3. Review all recent activity
4. Change store passwords
5. Contact Ecwid support

Troubleshooting

Cannot Add Staff Member

Issue: "You've reached your staff limit"

Cause: Plan doesn't allow more staff.

Solutions:

1. Remove unused staff
2. Upgrade plan:
   • Venture: 1 staff
   • Business: 5 staff
   • Unlimited: 100 staff

Staff Cannot Access Features

Issue: Staff reports they can't access certain features.

Diagnosis:

1. Settings → General → Staff
2. Click staff name
3. Review permissions

Solution:

• Enable needed permissions
• Save changes
• Staff refreshes page

Invitation Expired

Issue: Staff didn't accept within 14 days.

Solution:

1. Delete expired invitation
2. Send new invitation
3. Ask staff to accept promptly

Staff Forgot Password

Staff should:

1. Go to my.ecwid.com
2. Click Forgot password?
3. Enter email
4. Check email for reset link
5. Set new password

You cannot reset - staff must do it themselves.

Multiple People Need Same Access

Don't share accounts - security risk and can't track individual actions.

Solution:

1. Create individual accounts for each person
2. Set same permissions for all
3. Each has own login credentials

Plan Limitations

Staff Member Limits by Plan

Upgrading for More Staff

To add more staff:

1. Settings → Billing & Plans
2. Upgrade to higher plan
3. Billing adjusts immediately
4. Add staff members

Workarounds (Not Recommended)

If can't upgrade but need more users:

API access (for developers):

• Doesn't count toward staff limit
• Technical access only
• No Control Panel access

Shared accounts (not recommended):

• Security risk
• Can't track individual actions
• Against best practices

Better: Upgrade plan for proper access control.

App Market Integrations

Staff Management Apps

Third-party apps that extend staff functionality:

Time tracking:

• Track staff hours in store
• Useful for hourly employees

Advanced permissions:

• More granular permission control
• Role-based access beyond Ecwid's default

Activity monitoring:

• Enhanced audit trails
• Alert on suspicious activity

Find apps:

• Ecwid App Market
• Search "staff" or "team"

Next Steps

• Roles and Permissions - Detailed permission guide
• User Management Overview - General user management concepts

For general user management concepts, see User Management Guide.