Prerequisites

🔑 Access Requirements

Required Access Credentials

We need the following access to properly manage and maintain your WordPress site.

🌐

WordPress Admin

Administrative access to your WordPress dashboard.

Admin-level username
Secure password (we'll change it)
Dashboard URL (wp-admin)

🖥

Hosting / cPanel

Access to your hosting control panel for server-level management.

cPanel or hosting panel login
FTP/SFTP credentials
Database access (phpMyAdmin)

📧

Domain Registrar

Access to manage DNS settings and domain configurations.

Registrar account access
DNS management capability
SSL certificate controls

🔐 Security Notice

All credentials are stored encrypted in our password manager. We use multi-factor authentication and never share access with unauthorized personnel. Upon request, we can rotate all credentials after onboarding.

⚙️ Technical Requirements

Server & Software Specs

Your hosting environment must meet these minimum and recommended specifications.

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended	Status
PHP Version	7.4	8.1 or 8.2	● Required
MySQL / MariaDB	5.7	8.0+	● Required
SSL Certificate	Valid SSL	Let's Encrypt or paid SSL	● Required
WordPress Version	Latest 2 versions	Latest stable release	● Required
PHP Memory Limit	128MB	256MB+	● Required
Max Execution Time	60 seconds	300 seconds	● Required
Server Disk Space	1GB free	5GB+ free	● Required
Server RAM	512MB	2GB+ (dedicated)	● Recommended
Object Cache	None	Redis / Memcached	● Recommended
CDN	None	Cloudflare	● Recommended
SMTP Service	None	WP Mail SMTP configured	● Recommended
Staging Environment	Not available	One-click staging	● Recommended

⚠️ Shared Hosting Warning

We recommend managed WordPress hosting for best results. If you're on shared hosting, please note that server-level optimizations may be limited. We can work with most shared hosts, but performance improvements may be restricted.

🏠 Hosting Requirements

Compatible Hosting Providers

We work with most hosting providers. Here are the requirements for different hosting types.

☁️

Managed WordPress Hosting

Optimal

✓ WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways
✓ Built-in staging environment
✓ Automated daily backups
✓ Server-level caching included
✓ Automatic PHP version upgrades
✓ Free SSL certificates

🖥

VPS / Dedicated Server

Flexible

✓ Full root / SSH access required
✓ Control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc.)
✓ Ability to install plugins we need
✓ Firewall configuration access
✓ Backup configuration capability
✓ Monitoring agent installation

🌐

Shared Hosting

Basic

✓ cPanel access required
✓ FTP/SFTP file access
✓ phpMyAdmin database access
✓ Ability to edit php.ini / .htaccess
✓ Cron job support
✓ Note: Limited server optimization

🔄

Migration from Another Host

We Help

✓ Access to old hosting account
✓ Domain registrar access
✓ Email forwarding setup assistance
✓ DNS migration support
✓ Zero-downtime migration process
✓ Post-migration verification

✅ Checklist

Pre-Onboarding Checklist

Complete these steps before submitting your onboarding request.

📋

Before You Contact Us

☐ Ensure WordPress is updated to latest version
☐ Take a full manual backup of your site
☐ Document all custom code changes
☐ List all active and inactive plugins
☐ Note any custom server configurations
☐ Identify all team members with access
☐ Prepare hosting login credentials

🔧

During Onboarding

☐ Share access via our secure portal
☐ Complete our onboarding questionnaire
☐ Authorize our monitoring plugin install
☐ Confirm backup schedule preference
☐ Review and sign service agreement
☐ Schedule initial site audit call
☐ Provide preferred communication method

🛡

Security Preparation

☐ Remove unused plugins and themes
☐ Change default admin username
☐ Enable SSL if not already active
☐ Remove old FTP accounts
☐ Document any API keys in use
☐ Note any existing security plugins
☐ List any firewall rules configured

📊

Analytics & Monitoring

☐ Provide Google Analytics access (optional)
☐ Share Google Search Console access
☐ Note current bounce rate / traffic stats
☐ List any existing monitoring tools
☐ Share hosting dashboard access
☐ Provide uptime expectations
☐ Define peak traffic hours

💡 Pro Tip

You don't need to complete everything before contacting us. Our onboarding specialists will help you through each step. Just have your hosting and WordPress admin credentials ready — we'll handle the rest.

⚠️ Important Notes

Things to Know

Important information about our onboarding process and what we need from you.

📌

Common Issues We Encounter

⚠ Outdated PHP: Sites running PHP 7.3 or older need an upgrade before we can begin management. We can assist with this migration.
⚠ No FTP Access: Some hosting providers restrict FTP. If you don't have file access, we'll need cPanel or an alternative method.
⚠ Missing SSL: All sites must have SSL enabled. If yours doesn't, we can install a free Let's Encrypt certificate during onboarding.
⚠ Conflicting Plugins: Having multiple security or caching plugins can cause issues. We'll recommend our tested stack during onboarding.
⚠ Custom Code in Themes: Direct edits to theme files (instead of using a child theme) can cause issues during updates. We'll identify these during our audit.
⚠ Broken Backups: If your current backups are failing or incomplete, we'll set up our backup system first before any other changes.

🚫 What We Cannot Manage

Unfortunately, we cannot provide services for the following:

Sites with active malware infections that require emergency cleanup (contact our emergency services)
Websites built with page builders that have custom PHP hooks we cannot access
Sites hosted on platforms that don't allow FTP/SFTP or cPanel access
WordPress Multisite networks with more than 20 subsites (contact enterprise sales)
Sites using pirated or nulled themes/plugins
Projects involving hacking, cracking, or unauthorized access to third-party sites

📝 wp-config.php Requirements

After onboarding, we'll need to modify your wp-config.php file. Here's what we typically add:

// Wp Admin - Security & Performance Configuration
// Added during onboarding process

define('WP_DEBUG', false);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');
define('AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 120);
define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5);
define('EMPTY_TRASH_DAYS', 30);
                

We'll always backup your wp-config.php before making changes and share all modifications with you.

Onboarding Prerequisites