A Website Handover Checklist for Business Owners

A website handover should leave your business able to use the site and get help when something needs attention. A launch link and a folder of files are only part of that. Ask for a short working session with the person who will manage the website day to day.

Start with an account and ownership list

Ask your provider to list the domain account, hosting, website editor, business email connections and any services used for forms, bookings or payments. Beside each item, record the account owner, the business contact who can access it and any renewal date.

Check access by signing in yourself. An invitation that nobody accepted is an unfinished handover task. Use an agreed secure way to transfer access, and decide which access the provider needs to retain for support.

Also ask what work is being transferred to you. Separate custom website files and content from third-party subscriptions, photographs or fonts with their own usage terms. Confirm any restrictions and ongoing costs in writing with the provider.

Rehearse the changes your staff will make

Choose a few ordinary tasks and have a member of your team complete them while the provider watches. Try changing opening hours, replacing a service photo and correcting a paragraph. Ask how to preview a change, publish it and undo a mistake.

For a hypothetical repair shop, a useful rehearsal could be adding holiday hours and updating the areas covered by its callout service. If only the developer can make those changes, that may still suit the business, but the support process and expected charges should be clear.

Record a short demonstration with permission or ask for instructions using your actual pages. A long manual about features your team will never use is less useful than a reliable guide to the tasks they perform each month.

Follow a customer task all the way through

Open the website on a phone and send a clearly marked test enquiry. Check the confirmation shown to the visitor, the message received by your team and the address used for replies. Tell everyone involved that it is a test so it is not mistaken for a real lead.

If the site includes booking or payment, agree with the provider how to test those steps safely before proceeding. Check what staff see when a booking changes or a customer cannot finish. Include any follow-up email promised on the page.

Keep a short list of outstanding issues, who will resolve each one and the agreed completion date. A working home page does not show whether the rest of the process is ready.

Know what happens when something goes wrong

Ask who to contact if the site is unavailable, enquiries stop arriving or a member of staff loses access. Record the support hours, the contact method and which types of work are covered.

Ask how the website and its content are backed up, who can arrange a restoration and whether restoring it has been demonstrated. You need a clear responsibility and process, even if a specialist will carry out the work.

Leave with a usable handover record

Before closing the project, check that your record includes:

• Account owners, access instructions and renewal responsibilities.
• The pages and features you have reviewed and accepted.
• Instructions for everyday content updates.
• Ongoing subscriptions and the person who approves renewals.
• Support contacts, agreed cover and outstanding fixes.
• Where the final content, project files and relevant instructions are stored.

If you are deciding whether to keep or replace an existing site, our repair-or-rebuild guide helps you frame that decision. You can also review our services or talk to us about a handover before planning further work.