A Website Handover Checklist for Business Owners

A new website can be live while the business still depends on its builder to change a heading, renew the domain or find a backup. A handover is complete when the people who will operate the site can demonstrate the access and procedures they need.

List the accounts that keep the site running

Record the domain registrar, DNS, hosting, website administration, analytics and any external services the site relies on. For each, record the account owner, billing contact, renewal date where applicable and the route for requesting support. Include services that handle enquiries or publish content, even if they have no visible presence on the site.

Use business-controlled accounts for ownership where the service allows it. Give the people doing the work individual roles. Confirm access by having them sign in and perform an agreed low-impact task. Store recovery details in the business’s approved credential manager.

Show the editor how routine work happens

Pick a real edit the team expects to make, such as changing holiday hours, replacing a service photograph or preparing an article. Ask the editor to make it in the appropriate environment, preview it and verify the result. Include image sizing, approval responsibilities and how to revert an accidental change.

Document where reusable content lives. A contact number shown in six places may come from one shared setting or six independent entries. The editor should know where to change it and which public pages to check afterwards.

Verify that a backup can support a recovery

Record which parts of the site are backed up, who can retrieve them and how far back the retained copies go. A content database, media library and application files may have different backup schedules. Note which settings or external services require separate recovery steps.

Agree where a restore can be tested safely. Check that the recovered site opens and that critical pages, assets and forms are present. Keep a dated record of the restore test and what it covered. Assign an owner to anything that still requires provider support.

Check the systems that receive website enquiries

Submit a clearly marked test through the public form. Confirm where it arrives, who can access it and who receives notifications. Verify that any visitor confirmation is accurate. Include any other contact routes the site advertises and record who responds to them.

Give the receiving team a short route for reporting failures. The support contact needs the affected page, time, observed behaviour and a safe way to locate the record. Avoid copying personal details into shared issue notes.

Agree what support covers after handover

Record who renews services, applies updates, reviews access and handles incidents. Separate routine content editing from work that requires a developer. Keep a list of accepted limitations, outstanding issues and their owners, along with the evidence used to close each item.

Finish with a short walkthrough led by the incoming owner. They should be able to sign in, preview a change, find the backup instructions and identify the right contact when an enquiry fails. That walkthrough provides a concrete acceptance check.

CONSAI builds websites and digital platforms around the teams that operate them. For related launch checks, see the website migration SEO checklist. Share what your team needs to take ownership of after launch.