The developer has it all
What a website owner should have: 12 items
Passwords with the studio or freelancer? Check which important things you have. Some items you can check yourself; ask about the rest — ready questions and a letter are below.
Download the checklist (PDF)This is not legal advice. Check rights and liability with a lawyer in your country.
Site address
The site address is in your name
A site address (domain) is bought from a registrar and renewed every year. Whoever is the registered owner controls it.
1. You are the owner of the site address
Check it yourself- Why
- The owner decides whether to renew the address and where it points.
- How to check
- Open an address lookup service (WHOIS): .md — nic.md, .ro — rotld.ro, .com — lookup.icann.org. Enter the site address and find the owner (Registrant). Often the name is hidden — then ask the developer.
- Fine if
- The owner is you or your company.
- What to ask
- «In whose name is the site address? If yours — how can it be moved to me?»
2. You know when the address is paid until
Check it yourself- Why
- If the address isn't renewed on time, the site stops opening, and someone else may take the address later.
- How to check
- The expiry date is in the same WHOIS (the Expiry line).
- Fine if
- The date is in your calendar. Whoever you agreed with renews the address.
- What to ask
- «Until what date is the site address paid, and who renews it?»
3. You have your own registrar login
Ask to be shown- Why
- That's where you change where the address points and where email works. Without a login, you depend on whoever has one.
- How to check
- Try to log in. No login — ask the developer which registrar the address was bought from.
- Fine if
- Your own login, not shared with the developer.
- What to ask
- «Which registrar was the address bought from? Can you set up my own login?»
Where the site runs
Server and email
4. You know where the site runs and who pays for it
Ask to be shown- Why
- The site runs on a server (hosting). Without access to it, you can't move the site or renew payment yourself.
- How to check
- Ask the developer where the site is hosted and whose name the account is in. If you pay them one lump sum, ask what it includes.
- Fine if
- The account is yours, or at least you know where it is and have your own login.
- What to ask
- «Where is the site hosted and whose name is the account in? Can you set up my own login?»
5. Email on the site address is under your control
Ask to be shown- Why
- If your email looks like name@your-site, it works through the address settings. Gmail doesn't count here.
- How to check
- Ask where your email runs and who can create and delete mailboxes.
- Fine if
- New mailboxes and staff passwords are created by you or at your request.
- What to ask
- «Where does our email run, and can you give me admin rights?»
The site itself
Admin panel, site files and system
6. You can change a price or text yourself
Check it yourself- Why
- The admin panel is where texts, prices and photos change. Without it, every edit goes through the developer.
- How to check
- Log into the admin panel and change a price. Change it back. No login — ask for one.
- Fine if
- You did it yourself. The login is in your name, not shared.
- What to ask
- «Please set up an admin login for me and briefly show me how to change prices».
7. The site files are kept by you too
Ask to be shown- Why
- Any developer needs the site files (code) to move or change the site.
- How to check
- Ask where the site files are kept. If the site is on a builder (Tilda, Wix), whose account the project is on.
- Fine if
- The files are in a repository on your account (e.g. GitHub), or the builder project is on your account.
- What to ask
- «Where are the site files kept? Can we make a copy on my account?»
8. The site can be handed to another developer
Ask to be shown- Why
- Some sites are built on a studio's own system that can't be taken away.
- How to check
- Ask what the site is built on. An answer like «WordPress», «Tilda», «OpenCart» means a widely used system.
- Fine if
- A widely used system or a builder on your account.
- What to ask
- «What is the site built on? Could another developer continue working on it?»
9. Paid add-ons are licensed to you
Ask to be shown- Why
- Sites often use paid add-ons (plugins, themes, fonts). A licence in someone else's name may not be renewed if you stop working together.
- How to check
- Ask for a list of paid add-ons and whose name they are in.
- Fine if
- There is a list, and you know when to renew them.
- What to ask
- «Does the site use paid add-ons? Whose name are they in and when do they renew?»
Backups and documents
Backups, analytics and an access list
10. There is a backup the site can be restored from
A specialist checks- Why
- A backup nobody ever restored the site from may not work when you need it.
- How to check
- Ask who makes backups, how often, where they are kept and when the site was last restored from one.
- Fine if
- Backups run automatically and are kept off the same server. Restoring has been tested.
- What to ask
- «Are site backups made, where are they kept, and have you tested restoring?»
11. Site analytics is on your Google account
Check it yourself- Why
- Google Analytics and Search Console keep the visit history. If they're on the developer's account, the history leaves with them.
- How to check
- Open analytics.google.com and search.google.com/search-console with your Google account. You see the site — good.
- Fine if
- You are the owner; the developer has their own access.
- What to ask
- «Can you add me as owner in Google Analytics and Search Console?»
12. You have a list of all access
Check it yourself- Why
- On the day you need another specialist, everything should be in one place.
- How to check
- Make a table: service, login address, login, whose account, renewal date. Keep passwords in a password manager, not in chats.
- Fine if
- The list exists. There are instructions on changing texts and prices.
First letter to the developer
Start with the essentials: admin login and site address. Ask the rest in a second letter. Calm tone: you're not leaving, just keeping access on hand.
Letter template
Hello [name], I'd like the main access to the site [address] to be with me too — just in case, and so I can change prices myself. I plan to keep working with you. Could you please tell me: 1) whether you can set up an admin login for me and briefly show how to change prices; 2) in whose name the site address is and until what date it's paid; 3) where the site is hosted and whose name that account is in. Please reply by [date]. [If you're willing to pay: if this is separate work, let me know the cost.] Thank you! [Name]
Don't change it all in one day First get the access and a site backup. Change passwords and owners one at a time. For .com addresses, a transfer to another registrar may be blocked for 60 days after an owner change (ICANN rule).
Frequently asked questions
The developer doesn't reply or refuses. What now?
Write again, in writing and point by point, without accusations. No reply or a refusal — check the contract, if there is one: what it says about handing over the site. After that, it's a question for a lawyer in your country.
Do I have to understand all this myself?
No. What matters is that access is in your name and kept by you. A specialist you call in will use it.
The site is on Tilda or Wix. Does this matter too?
Yes. The key is that the builder account is yours and the developer is a collaborator in it. What can be exported differs between builders — ask in advance.
Want me to gather all this for you?
From €250 · 5 working days of my work. I'll check what you have, write to the developer and check the reply.