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What I need to take over an existing website
If someone else built your site and you want me working on it, this is the shopping list. Send what you have and I will find the rest.
Before you start
- Whatever logins you can find
- The name of whoever built it, if you know
Do not worry about gathering all of this perfectly. Send me what you can find and I will work out what is missing — half this job is detective work and I am used to it.
The four things that actually matter
1. The domain. Where you bought it and the login. This is the one you must own personally. If it is registered in a previous developer’s name, tell me now — that is the single most common way small businesses get held hostage.
2. The hosting. Where the site actually runs. Netlify, Vercel, WP Engine, GoDaddy, SiteGround, a server somewhere. If you have no idea, send me the domain and I can usually work it out in a minute.
3. The code. If it was custom-built there is probably a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repository. If it is WordPress, this is the admin login instead.
4. The email. Who handles your business email — Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or your host. I need to know so I do not break it while moving other things.
Nice to have
- Google Analytics and Search Console access (here’s how)
- Any DNS or registrar access
- The original designer’s files, if a designer was involved
- A list of anything on the site that is currently broken or that you have been ignoring
What I do first
Before changing anything, I take a full backup and write down what is currently running where. You get that document whether or not you carry on working with me — it is your business’s infrastructure, and you should have a map of it regardless.
What this access actually gives me
I can see
- Your website's code, hosting and content
I cannot see
- Anything you do not send me
If any of that is not what you expected, stop and message me before you click anything.
Stuck on a step?
Send me a screenshot of whatever is on your screen. That is almost always faster than describing it, and I would genuinely rather you asked than guessed.