FIELD NOTE · Hosting Fieldbook
What should arrive with a website handover?
Keep the business able to operate its website after a supplier changes.
Start with ownership and access
Identify the domain registrar, DNS provider, hosting account, website platform, email service, analytics property, and paid extensions. Record the business owner for each service and how access is granted. Prefer individual accounts with the appropriate role to a shared password passed between everyone. Do not publish credentials in a handover document. The owner should be able to see which people or suppliers have access and how to remove it when an engagement ends.
Request usable materials, not just screenshots
Ask for the current source or export that the platform supports, original assets the business is entitled to use, a recent backup, and a list of integrations. Some hosted builders do not export an interchangeable working site; establish that limitation before treating an export as a migration package. Record which design assets, fonts, photographs, and extensions require licenses or have restrictions on transfer. Ownership of a domain does not establish ownership of every asset displayed on it.
Document routine work and an emergency route
A practical handover explains how to make a common edit, where inquiries arrive, who receives renewal notices, and how to contact support. Include a recovery procedure and the latest test result. Use a short walkthrough of a real task with synthetic information rather than an enormous manual that nobody can follow. Mark where changing a setting could affect other sites, email, or a payment integration.
Complete a small acceptance exercise
Have the incoming owner sign in through their own account, make an agreed non-public or reversible edit, locate a backup, and find the relevant billing information. Confirm that the previous supplier’s ongoing work and access are documented separately. Record what remains outstanding and the deadline. This exercise does not replace contract or license advice; it establishes whether the everyday operating tasks can be performed without relying on undocumented knowledge.
Prepared with AI assistance. Examples are constructed for explanation, not reported customer results. Corrections are welcome through the contact page.
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