Creating a temporary login is a smart move if you want to give someone access to your WordPress dashboard without sharing the username and password.
You can do this for some scenarios. Like when you are working with a freelancer to fix a certain issue on your website.
The problem is that WordPress has no built-in feature for this particular login mechanism. But no worries. I will show you how to create a passwordless temporary login in WordPress without advanced technical knowledge.
Shortcuts ⤵️
When Should You Create a Temporary Login?
Not all business owners rely on an agency to manage their website. Some prefer to manage their website themselves. If you fall into this kind of people, you know that managing a WordPress website sometimes can lead to frustration.
There will be a moment where you need help from someone to fix the issue you are experiencing. Usually, you need to give WordPress dashboard access to those you ask for help from.
At this point, you need to be very careful. Especially when you need to give WordPress dashboard access with full admin privileges.
Instead of sharing your login info (username and password), you can create a passwordless temporary login for a more secure temporary WordPress dashboard access.
Creating a temporary login can also be useful when you need help from a plugin/theme developer.
Here are some scenarios where you should create a temporary login on your WordPress website.
- When you are asking for help from a freelancer or agency to fix a certain issue on your website
- When are asking for help from a plugin/theme developer over technical issue you are experiencing with their product
- When you collaborate with a client on a content creation
- WooCommerce store managers needing temporary access to fix inventory/order issues
- Security or performance audits by third-party consultants
- Site migration or hosting support handoffs
- Onboarding a new VA or intern without creating a permanent account
- Client sign-off/review access before final handover (subscriber or editor role, time-boxed)
Creating a Passwordless Temporary Login in WordPress
WordPress has no built-in feature to create a temporary login. The only thing you can do if you want to give someone temporary access to your WordPress dashboard is by adding a new user and then delete it manually once the task is done.
While the above solution completely works, it's not recommended because it is not efficient at all.
Instead, you can install a plugin to create a temporary login on your WordPress website. There are a bunch of plugins that you can use for this particular purpose. My recommendation is Temporary Login Without Password.
Using the Temporary Login Without Password Plugin to Create a Passwordless Temporary Login in WordPress
Temporary Login Without Password (TLWP) is arguably the most popular plugin to create a temporary login in WordPress. The plugin has over 100,000 active installations according to WordPress.org and has earned positive reviews from WordPress users.
I tested TLWP on one of my WordPress websites to figure out whether it worked per my expectation and it did.
The best part is that you can use the plugin to create a passwordless temporary login for free. The pro version of TLWP is available with some advanced features but all cores feature, including the ability to create a passwordless login, are available on the free version.
Here are the steps to create a passwordless temporary login in WordPress using TLWP.
Step 1: Install the TLWP Plugin
The free version of TLWP is distributed via WordPress.org so that you can install it effortlessly via your WordPress dashboard.
First, go to Plugins -> Add Plugin on your WordPress dashboard to add a new plugin on your WordPress website.
Type "tlwp" on the search box and hit the Install Now button to install the plugin on your website.
Wait a moment while WordPress is installing the plugin on your website. Once done, activate the plugin right away by clicking the Activate button.
Step 2: Create the Passwordless Temporary Login and Share the Link
Once the TLWP plugin is installed and activated on your WordPress website, you can start using it to create a temporary login on your website.
Start by going to Uses -> Temporary Logins to access the plugin screen.
To create a new passwordless temporary login, you can click the Create New button under the Temporary Logins tab. A form will open after you click the button. Fill out all of the form fields and click the Submit button.
As you can see above, before you click the Submit button, you can set the user role, where the user will be redirected to after login (ideally the WordPress dashboard), and expiration duration.
After clicking the Submit button, you will be presented with the temporary login link. Simply click the clipboard icon to copy the link.
Now, you can share the link to anyone you want to give your WordPress dashboard to. You can share the link via email, chat box or any medium you want.
From their end (the one with temporary dashboard access), they will see a Temporary Access alert on the WordPress top bar to indicate that the access is not permanent.
To monitor the usage of the temporary links you have created, you can go back to the temporary logins list (Users -> Temporary Logins). In the Count column, you can see how many times a login link has been used. If you see the number of 0 on a login link, it means the login link hasn't been used yet.
If you often create temporary logins on your WordPress website, it would be great to set some default settings. To do so, you can go to the Settings tab on the TLWP screen.
From here, you can set the visible roles (the visible role options on temporary login creation), default user role, default redirect page and default expiration duration.
As I mentioned, all of the TLWP core features are accessible on the free version. If you need more advanced features like email notifications (when the login link is used), the ability to set maximum login link usage and activity log, you can use the pro version.
For basic usage, though, the free version of TLWP is more than enough.
When the Free Version Isn't Enough
In case the free version of TLWP can't cover all of your needs, you can upgrade to the pro version and you can unlock the following features.
- Set maximum login attempts: The free version has no cap on link usage. Pro lets you lock a link to a fixed number of uses, so it can't be reused or shared beyond what you intended.
- Login access notifications: In the free version, you have to manually check the Count column. Pro sends an instant email alert the moment a temp login is used, so you know in real time, not after the fact.
- Activity logging: The free version only shows a link was used. Pro tracks what happened during that session, useful when handing dashboard access to an unknown freelancer or agency.
Summary
Whenever you need to give someone access to your WordPress dashboard regardless of the task you want them to do, it's always a better idea to create a passwordless temporary login instead of sharing your username and password.
Temporary Login Without Password (TLWP) is one of the best plugins that you can use for this particular purpose. It takes no advanced technical knowledge to use the plugin. And most importantly, you can use it for free.
TLWP can be a great solution if you are collaborating with a freelancer to fix a certain issue on your website. It is also useful for other scenarios such as collaborating on content creation, giving access to plugin/theme support team and so on.
