A new website can look finished while important practical details remain unresolved. The pages work, the enquiry form sends and the site is live, but who controls the domain? Where are backups kept? Which services renew next year?
A proper handover answers those questions before they become urgent. You do not need to understand every technical setting. You do need enough access and information to run the website without being trapped by one supplier.
Start with ownership, not a folder of passwords
The business should control the accounts that matter. That usually includes the domain registrar, hosting account, WordPress administration and any service used for email, forms, analytics or security.
Control does not mean sharing one login around the team. Ask for an account in the business name, then give each person or supplier their own access where the service allows it. This makes permissions easier to change when responsibilities move.
Passwords should go into a password manager or approved secret store, not an email thread or handover document. The document can record where an account lives, who owns it and who has access without containing the secret itself.
Check the domain and DNS records
Your domain is the address people use to reach the website. Losing access to it can affect the site and business email at the same time, so confirm the registrar, account owner, renewal date and payment method.
Ask for a simple record of the DNS setup too. DNS tells internet services where to find the website and email systems. You may never need to edit it, but the record gives a future developer a reliable starting point and reduces the risk of an accidental change taking other services offline.
Know where the website is hosted
The handover should name the hosting provider, the plan in use, the renewal arrangement and the person authorised to contact support. It should also explain whether hosting is managed by your developer or billed directly to the business.
Clarify what the hosting package covers. Storage and server space are only part of the picture. You need to know who handles software updates, uptime alerts, security checks and technical problems. Mighty Digital Studio’s WordPress website service, for example, includes 12 months of hosting and support, with the final scope agreed for each project.
Confirm the backup and recovery plan
“The site is backed up” is not quite enough. Ask how often backups run, what they contain, where they are stored and how long they are kept. At least one copy should be separate from the live hosting account, because a backup on the same failed or compromised system may not help.
Someone should also know how to restore the site. A backup file is useful only if it can be recovered within a sensible time. The exact setup depends on the website, but responsibility should be clear. Our guide to WordPress maintenance for small businesses explains the routine work around updates, backups and testing in more detail.
List licences and connected services
WordPress sites often rely on paid themes, plugins, font licences, form services or image libraries. The handover should list each paid item, who owns the licence, what it costs at renewal and what happens if it expires.
Connected services need the same treatment. Make a note of analytics, search tools, email delivery, payment providers, booking systems and customer relationship software used by the site. Record the purpose of each connection and which account controls it. This is especially helpful when an old supplier account must be replaced later.
Ask for editing guidance that matches the site
A generic WordPress manual rarely tells you how your own pages were assembled. Useful guidance covers the jobs your team will actually do: changing contact details, adding a blog post, replacing an image or checking an enquiry.
Keep it short enough to use. A few annotated screenshots or brief screen recordings are often more useful than a long technical document. The handover should also say which parts are safe to edit and which changes should go back to the developer.
Agree what happens after launch
Launch is the start of normal use, not the end of every decision. Put the support arrangement in writing. Who receives fault reports? What counts as maintenance, and what would be quoted as new work? Is there a response-time commitment, or will requests be handled as capacity allows?
Also agree when the website will be reviewed. Forms can stop working after an integration changes. Staff details become dated. Service pages drift away from what the business now sells. A simple review schedule catches those problems before a rushed update is needed.
A handover you can test
Do not judge the handover by the number of files supplied. Test whether the business can sign in, identify each renewal, find a recent backup and explain who to contact when something breaks. If one of those answers depends on a former supplier replying, the handover is not finished.
If you are planning a new WordPress site and want ownership, support and the post-launch arrangements made clear from the start, send Mighty Digital Studio a project enquiry.