I’ve always been wary of File Manager plugins. From the beginning of my career, I’ve avoided working with clients who don’t trust me with direct server and database access. It’s a slippery slope, and using such plugins adds unnecessary risk. But recently, I broke my own rule and learned firsthand why these tools can be more trouble than they’re worth.

Here’s what happened:

I was working on a client’s website, and the SFTP access provided wasn’t working. Unfortunately, due to the time difference, my client was fast asleep when I needed to resolve the issue. Impatience got the better of me. Eager to diagnose the problem quickly, I made a decision that still makes me cringe: I installed a File Manager plugin to access the files directly.

As I was navigating through the files, I noticed some site redirection issues. The site had multiple factors at play—security plugins, custom .htaccess rules, caching plugins, and redirection plugins. Any one of these could have been the cause of the problem. Following what I believed to be a standard practice, I went straight to the wp-content folder using the File Manager plugin and renamed the plugins folder to plugins-bk to temporarily disable all plugins.

What happened next?

Of course, I had forgotten I was using a plugin to manage the files. By renaming the plugins folder, I effectively deactivated the File Manager plugin, which meant I lost access to the site’s backend, and the entire site went down. Everything came to a halt, and I immediately realized my mistake.

Moral of the Story: A Development Mindset

The lesson here wasn’t just about the technical mistake I made—it was a reminder to stay patient, trust proven methods, and avoid shortcuts when dealing with something as critical as a client’s website. As developers and product managers, we often face challenges where our instincts might push us to rush toward a quick fix. But in this case, my impatience led to unnecessary downtime and extra work.

Mistakes happen, but in the development mindset, the focus should be on continuous improvement. As Steve Jobs said, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” Keep learning, keep experimenting, but also remember: don’t repeat the same mistake twice. I won’t be rushing into File Manager plugins anytime soon. The next time I encounter an access issue, I’ll wait for the client to fix SFTP access or explore more reliable options instead of taking shortcuts.

Another valuable reminder from this experience is best summed up by Albert Einstein, who said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” The key is not just making mistakes, but learning from them, adapting, and improving.

In the end, development is not just about writing code or managing files—it’s about how you handle the unexpected and keep growing through each challenge you face.