Changing agencies: website handover checklist
By Uniqode
A website handover is more than receiving a folder of files. Your new partner needs to understand how the site runs, how changes are released and which services it depends on. Your organisation needs to retain ownership and know who is responsible during the transition.
Start with an inventory
Make one list of the website’s accounts and components. For each item, record the business owner, current technical contact, renewal date where relevant and the action needed for handover. Record where credentials are managed; do not place passwords in the checklist itself.
- Domain and DNS: registrar account, domain owner, renewal arrangements and DNS management.
- Hosting: hosting account, server or platform details, environments and support contact.
- Code: repository, custom modules or plugins, theme, dependency files and relevant licences.
- Content and files: database, uploaded media, private files where applicable and migration requirements.
- Deployment: build steps, configuration, release process and rollback instructions.
- Connected services: forms, email delivery, search, payment or CRM connections where used, analytics and monitoring.
Ask for the operational knowledge
Request a list of known issues, unusual configuration, scheduled jobs and manual tasks. Ask which updates are pending and what has been tested. Find out how backups are made and restored, and where the latest deployment instructions live.
A short walkthrough with the outgoing partner can explain details that a file transfer misses. Capture the outcome in documentation that your organisation and the incoming partner can use.
Plan access deliberately
Agree which named people need access to which systems. Use the services’ account invitation or access-management features where available. Transfer secrets through an agreed secure method, rather than putting passwords in ordinary email or a shared briefing document.
Keep the organisation’s own administrative ownership clear. Review outgoing access at the agreed completion point, once continuity and recovery arrangements have been checked. Avoid removing access before the incoming team can operate the site.
Use a staged handover
- Inventory: identify the systems, owners, missing information and responsibilities.
- Access and documentation: arrange the agreed access and collect the code, data and operating instructions.
- Verification: the incoming partner checks that the site can be run and maintained, preferably in a separate environment.
- Transition: agree when responsibility changes, who handles incidents and whether any content freeze is needed.
- Completion: confirm the handover checklist, outstanding issues, access changes and the ongoing support route.
Agree what “complete” means
Useful checks include access to the repository and hosting, a documented deployment path, a usable backup and clear ownership of external services. Check important journeys such as enquiries, account access or other relevant website functions after any hosting or configuration changes.
The handover may reveal work that is separate from taking over support: unsupported software, incomplete documentation or an integration with unclear ownership. Record that work and agree its priority before treating it as routine maintenance.
Keep the website’s next chapter manageable
If you are considering a new technical partner, our Website Care begins with an assessment of the site and the handover requirements. If the website itself needs a new direction, a Website Roadmap can help define it.