How to Add an Admin to Your Shopify Store: Complete Guide (2026)

Running a Shopify store? Eventually, you'll need to give team members, developers, or agencies access to your admin panel. Shopify lets you add users and control what each one can do with roles.

In this guide, I'll show you exactly how to add administrators and staff to your Shopify store, explain the different roles available, and share best practices for managing access securely.

Understanding Shopify Staff Accounts

Shopify calls everyone with admin access a user, and controls what each user can do with roles. You can use Shopify's ready-made roles or create your own.

Important: The number of staff accounts you can add depends on your Shopify plan (per Shopify's pricing page, September 2026):

• Basic: no additional staff accounts (you can still work with a developer through a collaborator account, covered below)
• Grow: up to 5 staff accounts
• Advanced: up to 15 staff accounts
• Shopify Plus: Unlimited staff accounts

Shopify Staff Roles Explained

Store Owner (Full Admin)

• Access: Complete control over everything
• Can: Access all features, manage billing, add/remove staff, transfer ownership
• Who: You—the account owner
• Note: There can only be one store owner

Administrator

• Access: Nearly everything except billing and store transfer
• Can: Manage products, orders, customers, apps, settings
• Best for: Trusted business partners, senior team members, agencies

Limited Permissions (Custom Roles)

• Access: Specific areas you choose
• Can: Only access features you enable
• Best for: Specialized roles like customer service, inventory managers, or marketing team

Shopify also has predefined roles like:

• Customer support: Handle orders, draft orders, and customer questions
• Merchandiser: Manage products, catalogs, and content
• Marketer: Run marketing campaigns and manage customer relationships
• Online store editor: Manage your storefront, content, and files

How to Add a Staff Member to Your Shopify Store

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Log into your Shopify admin (yourstorename.myshopify.com/admin)
2. Click Settings in the bottom left corner
3. Select Users, then click Add users

1. Enter their email address, click Add users, then in the Roles section click Assign:

• Choose a predefined role (like Customer support or Marketer)
• Or create a new role with just the permissions you want, then click Save

The new user gets an email invitation, which stays valid for seven days.

What Your Staff Member Sees

After you send the invitation:

1. They'll receive an email from Shopify
2. Click Accept Invite
3. Create a password for their account
4. Log into your Shopify admin with their credentials
5. Access only the areas you've granted permissions for

Note: Staff members log in at yourstorename.myshopify.com/admin using their email and password.

Shopify Permissions Breakdown

Here's what each permission category includes:

Store Management:

• General Settings: Edit store details, policies, and legal information
• Apps & Channels: Install and manage apps, sales channels
• Themes: Edit store design and theme code
• Locations: Manage retail locations and inventory

Products & Content:

• Products: Add, edit, and delete products and collections
• Inventory: Manage stock levels and transfers
• Gift Cards: Create and manage gift cards

Customer Service:

• Orders: View, edit, fulfill, and refund orders
• Customers: View and manage customer information
• Discounts: Create and manage discount codes

Marketing & Analytics:

• Marketing: Create campaigns and promotions
• Analytics: View reports and store performance

Financial:

• Finances: View financial reports (payouts, taxes, etc.)
• Staff Management: Invite and remove other staff members

Pro Tip: You can mix and match permissions to create custom roles.

How to Edit or Remove a Staff Member

Need to change permissions or remove someone?

To Edit Permissions:

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Click on the staff member's name
3. Click Assign or Remove role next to the roles you want to change
4. Click Save

To Remove a Staff Member:

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Click on the staff member's name
3. Click Actions
4. Click Remove
5. Confirm removal

They'll immediately lose access to your Shopify admin.

How to Create Custom Roles in Shopify

Need more control than predefined roles offer?

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Click Add users and enter their email address
3. In the Roles section, click Assign, then create a new role
4. Toggle on only the specific permissions they need
5. Click Save

Example Custom Roles:

Customer Service Agent:

• Orders (view and edit)
• Customers (view and edit)
• Discounts (view only)

Inventory Manager:

• Products (full access)
• Inventory (full access)
• Locations (full access)

Marketing Specialist:

• Marketing (full access)
• Analytics (view only)
• Discounts (full access)

Collaborator Accounts (For Developers)

If you're working with a developer or agency temporarily:

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Share your collaborator request code with the developer, so only people you choose can ask for access
3. The developer sends an access request from their Shopify Partner account
4. You get an email, review the permissions they asked for, and accept or reject the request

Difference from staff accounts:

• Collaborators don't count toward your staff account limit
• Their access expires automatically if they haven't logged in for 90 days (you can reactivate it)
• Best for contractors, freelancers, or one-time projects

Shopify Staff Best Practices

Security Tips:

1. Use two-factor authentication: Enable 2FA for all staff accounts
2. Grant minimum permissions: Only give access to what they need
3. Review staff regularly: Remove accounts for people no longer with your company
4. Use collaborators for contractors: Don't give permanent staff access to temporary workers
5. Monitor staff activity: Shopify logs all actions—check regularly
6. Strong passwords: Require staff to use unique, complex passwords

When to Use Each Role:

• Full Permissions: Senior team members, trusted agency partners
• Orders & Customers: Customer service team
• Products & Inventory: Product managers, warehouse staff
• Marketing: Marketing team, SEO specialists
• Finances (view only): Accountants, bookkeepers
• Collaborator: Developers, designers working on a project

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"I've reached my staff account limit"

• Upgrade your Shopify plan to add more staff
• Use collaborator accounts for temporary access
• Remove inactive staff members

"Staff member didn't receive the invitation email"

• Check their spam/junk folder
• Verify the email address is correct
• Resend the invitation from Settings → Users

"Staff can't access certain features"

• Review their assigned roles and permissions
• Make sure the specific permission toggle is enabled
• Some features require certain Shopify apps to be installed

"Can staff members add other staff?"

• Only users with the store owner or Administrator role can manage other users
• Be careful who you give this permission to

Transferring Ownership of Your Shopify Store

Need to completely transfer your store to someone else?

1. If the new owner is already a user on your store: go to Settings → Users, click the store owner's name, open the menu next to the Store owner role, choose View stores, pick the store, and click Change ownership. If they're outside your business: go to Settings → General, click Manage in the Transfer store section, and send them the transfer by email

Warning: You'll lose ownership access. Make sure this is what you want.

Need Help Managing Your Shopify Store?

Managing staff, permissions, product listings, and scaling your e-commerce store can get overwhelming—especially when you're trying to grow sales and run your business.

Shopify isn't a platform I build on, but I'm happy to look at your store's SEO and how well it turns visitors into buyers, and tell you what I'd change first.

Book a free 15–30 minute call and I'll walk through your situation with you, offering insights and advice—no strings attached.

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Summary

Here's the short version:

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Click Add staff
3. Enter their name and email
4. Select their role and permissions
5. Click Send invite

Remember to:

• Only grant permissions they actually need
• Use collaborator accounts for temporary access
• Enable two-factor authentication for all accounts
• Review staff regularly and remove inactive members
• Monitor activity logs for security

For more details, visit Shopify's official documentation on user management.

Questions about managing your Shopify store? Let's talk—I'm here to help.