What to Do When Your Web Developer Disappears

If your web developer disappeared and your website still needs work, you are not stuck. It happens to a lot of small businesses: the freelancer who built the site takes a full-time job, an agency closes, or the emails simply stop being answered. This guide covers how to get control of your website back and find someone to look after it.

First, find out what you actually control

A website has three parts, and each one may be held in a different account:

• The domain name, held at a registrar. This is the most important one, because whoever controls the domain controls where your website and email point.
• The hosting, where the website files and database live.
• The website login, usually a WordPress administrator account.

Look through old emails and invoices for renewal notices and welcome messages. They usually name the registrar and the hosting company, and they show which email address each account was opened with.

If the accounts are in your name

This is the best case. Use the password reset on each account, sign in, and change the passwords. Then check when the domain and hosting renew and make sure the payment card on file is yours and current. A lapsed domain is the one mistake that is hard to undo.

If the accounts are in your developer’s name

Ask for them to be transferred to you, in writing and politely. Most developers will do this even if they no longer want the work. Ask specifically for:

• The domain to be transferred to a registrar account you own.
• A full copy of the website files and database, or administrator access so a new provider can take a copy.
• Any licences that were bought for your site.

If you cannot reach the developer at all, contact the registrar and the hosting company directly. Each has its own process for proving you are the rightful owner of a domain or account. It can take time and is not always successful, so start early.

Protect what you have while you sort it out

• Take a backup of the website as soon as you have any level of access.
• Save copies of your text and images, so nothing is lost if the worst happens.
• Note the renewal dates for the domain and hosting.

Find someone to take the website over

Once you can give a new provider access, the site can be moved and maintained by someone else without rebuilding it. When you compare providers, ask who will answer when you need help, what is included each month, and whether you keep ownership of your domain and files.

This is work we do regularly. Our WordPress website takeover moves your existing site to our hosting, brings it up to date and puts it on a maintenance plan. If your web developer disappeared and you are not sure where to start, tell us what you have and we will help you work out the next step.

How to avoid this next time

• Keep the domain in an account you own, with your own email address and card.
• Keep a record of every login connected to your website.
• Work with a provider that has no long-term contract and gives you your files if you leave.