Business guide
Website handover checklist: accounts, files, licences and launch checks
Use this business-owner checklist to agree what a website provider hands over, verify working access and leave support responsibilities clear.
A handover should let the next person do the work
A website handover is more useful than an archive attached to an email. The business needs to know what it has received, which accounts run it and how another authorised provider can maintain it. Agree the handover deliverables before the final launch or provider change so missing access does not become a last-minute surprise.
Start with the actual setup. A hosted website builder, a custom application and an older content-management system have different transfer options. Ask which parts are transferable, which need replacement and which subscriptions the business must continue. Do not assume a copied folder can reproduce the whole service.
Collect an account inventory, not shared passwords
List domain registration, DNS, hosting, website administration, deployment, business email, analytics and Search Console. Add booking tools, forms, payment integrations or other services the site depends on. For each one, identify the owner, ongoing cost, recovery contact and person responsible for renewal.
Use the provider’s invitation or transfer tools where available. Verify that a business-controlled account can sign in and perform the necessary administrative tasks before the outgoing provider removes access. Secrets should move through an agreed secure process; never put API keys, transfer codes or account passwords into public forms or ordinary project notes.
Separate the files from the rights to use them
Request the agreed editable content, photographs, logos, downloads and design or source files relevant to the platform. Check what the contract says about ownership and reuse. Stock photographs, fonts, themes and plugins can have licences attached to a provider account or restricted to a particular site.
If a component cannot transfer, agree its replacement and any resulting cost. Keep a simple register of the important paid licences and renewal responsibilities. The goal is to avoid discovering during the next update that the business has an attractive site but no permission or practical ability to maintain part of it.
- Business-controlled account access verified.
- Content and assets delivered in usable formats.
- Licences and subscription responsibilities recorded.
- Backups or platform exports tested where applicable.
- Old-page redirects and integration notes supplied.
Demonstrate the website works under the new arrangement
Have the incoming maintainer demonstrate the actual workflow using the accounts and integrations the business will retain. Ask the receiving team to confirm it works under the new arrangement. Keep the test results with the handover; the migration checklist provides the detailed launch checks so this document can focus on what the business receives.
Request the final URL mapping, redirect configuration notes and sitemap location where relevant. Confirm who owns the production analytics property and whether the agreed measurement setup transfers. Integration ownership matters as much as files: a reservation or form service can remain tied to the departing agency even when the site itself has moved.
- Access
The business can reach the accounts it must retain.
- Materials
Content, files and permitted licences are accounted for.
- Operation
A real test journey reaches the intended recipient.
- Responsibility
Renewal, maintenance and support owners are named.
Close access and support deliberately
Agree what support remains after delivery, how defects are reported and which changes are new work. Decide when temporary access can be removed without disrupting outstanding tasks. Keep a dated handover record with the account inventory and test results where the business can find it later.
My website design work can include an agreed handover and launch checklist. That scope is especially useful when moving away from an agency: the objective is a functioning business website and clear ongoing control, with each remaining dependency understood before the old arrangement is closed.