A website handover checklist for independent studios
Record account ownership, recurring costs, update instructions, inquiry delivery and a tested recovery procedure before accepting a website handover.
Before accepting the handover, ask someone in your studio to update one piece of content, receive a test inquiry and locate the recovery instructions. Write down anything they cannot complete.
Know what you control and what you are paying for
- Domain: registrar account, renewal date, renewal contact and who can change DNS.
- Hosting: account owner, plan, recurring costs and how a new version is published.
- Connected services: forms, mail, booking, payments or a CMS, with their owner and purpose.
- Access: individual accounts or roles where supported, recovery arrangements and a plan to remove temporary access.
Record account owners and where access is managed. Keep passwords, recovery codes and private keys in your chosen credential manager, using service invitations where available. The handover document should tell a colleague how to obtain authorised access.
Ask for an update path and a recovery path
Choose an update you will actually make, such as replacing an image or changing a service description. Have the person who will maintain the site follow the instructions while the builder is still available to answer questions. Record which edits need a partner’s or client’s approval.
List what transfers to you: source files, content exports, original images, design files and service accounts, as applicable. Ask which parts depend on a licence or platform and what would be involved in moving them.
Record the last working version, its backup location and the restoration steps. Ask the builder to demonstrate recovery in a separate test copy. Identify who can restore the live site and how to reach them.
A file called final-final is not a backup.
Protect the systems that already work
Ask the person changing DNS to record which website entries will change and which mail entries will remain. Preserve the current records before the change. Cloudflare’s email guide describes mail routing and authentication records; follow your mail provider’s instructions for their values.
Test the website form separately from ordinary mailbox sending. Confirm that a labelled test reaches the intended inbox and that Reply goes to the test sender. Assign someone to investigate delivery failures.
Walk through the finished site as a visitor
- Open the main routes on a phone and desktop. Check text, image crops, navigation and the contact action.
- Use the keyboard to reach links and fields. Check visible focus, labels and understandable errors.
- Check old links that matter and any agreed redirects.
- Confirm each public page has an appropriate title, a canonical address and the intended indexing setting. Check that the sitemap lists public pages; previews should stay out of search.
- Complete the inquiry or booking test, then verify the response path.
- Record open issues, responsibility for fixes and any agreed support period.
Google’s developer guidance covers checks that help search engines access and understand pages. Record what was checked without promising indexing or rankings.
Keep the handover beside the project files. Add a date and a responsible person whenever the hosting, mail, booking system or update procedure changes.