Recovering your website, domain name and access from a former provider

The scenario is common. A provider built the website, registered the domain name and opened the hosting account in their own name. Then they stop answering, or ask for money to hand back the access. The website keeps working, until the day the domain name expires or a change becomes urgent.

Before taking any step, you need to know what actually belongs to you, and where it is. This guide gives the course of action depending on the situation. It does not replace legal advice: in the event of a dispute, get help from a lawyer.

What should belong to you, and how to check it

A business website relies on several separate elements, often with different providers:

Element	What it is for	What you need
Domain name	The address of the website and of your emails	To be the registrant, with access to the account
Hosting	The server the website runs on	An account in your name, or complete backups
Code and administration	Changing the website	An administrator account, and the source code for a custom website
Google accounts	Visibility, analytics, business profile	Ownership, with a company email address
Social media	Company pages	An administrator role

The domain name: who is the registrant?

This is the most important element: without it, there is no more website, and no more email addresses on that domain. Two notions to distinguish:

• the registrant is the person or company the name belongs to;
• the registrar is the provider with which the name is registered.

A WHOIS lookup shows the registrar and the name's expiry date. For a .com, .net or .org, the official tool is ICANN Lookup. The registrant's details are often hidden there for privacy reasons: it is then up to the registrar to confirm who the registrant is.

If the registrant is your company, you are in a strong position, even if the provider manages the account. If it is the provider themselves, the process will take longer: you will need to obtain a change of registrant.

Also note the expiry date. A domain name that is not renewed in time can be lost, then bought by someone else.

Hosting and backups

Hosting is the server where the website's files and database are stored. If the provider pays for it, it can be cut off without notice the day they stop paying.

Ask for a complete backup (files and database) as early as possible, before changing anything at all. It is your insurance if the situation gets worse.

Source code and administrator access

For a WordPress website, you need an administrator account in your name. For a custom-built website, you need the source code (often in a repository, on GitHub for example) and the way to deploy it. Without the code, a custom website can no longer evolve: the only option left is to rebuild it.

Google accounts

Search Console, Google Analytics and the Google Business Profile hold the history of your visibility and traffic. They must belong to a company email address. The provider can be added as a user, never the other way round.

Case 1: the provider cooperates

Send them a written list of what you are asking for:

• the transfer of the domain name to an account in your name, or the transfer code (also called authorization code) to move it to another registrar;
• access to the hosting, or a complete backup if you are changing hosts;
• an administrator account on the website and, for a custom website, the source code;
• ownership of the Google accounts and administration of the social media pages.

Check each access yourself before ending the relationship, then change all the passwords.

Case 2: the provider no longer answers

1. Protect the domain name first. Contact the registrar directly. If your company is the registrant, it can let you take back control of the account or renew the name, on presentation of supporting documents (the documents required vary by provider).
2. Save what is still online. As long as the website works, save its texts and images: they will be useful if the site has to be rebuilt.
3. Keep a record of your follow-ups. Keep the emails and messages sent to the provider, with their dates. They will be useful if the situation turns into a dispute.

Case 3: the provider refuses to hand back the access

1. Reread the contract, the quote and the invoices. Look for what they say about ownership of the domain name, the hosting and the code.
2. Send a formal request, in writing, listing precisely what you are claiming.
3. Get advice from a lawyer if the refusal persists.

For generic extensions such as .com, ICANN governs transfers between registrars: its transfer policy specifies in particular the cases in which a registrar may refuse a transfer. A temporary lock may however apply after a change of registrant or a recent transfer: your registrar will tell you how long it lasts.

Country-code domain names

ICANN's rules cover generic extensions such as .com, .net or .org. A country-code extension (.uk, .ng, .de…) is managed by a national registry, which sets its own rules: to recover such a name, identify the registrar that manages it, ask it for the procedure and the documents required, and contact the national registry if you are blocked.

The checklist to require at the start of a project

The simplest approach is still to avoid the situation. Before signing with a provider, whether an agency or a freelancer, ask that:

• the domain name be registered in your company's name, on an account you have access to;
• the hosting be in your name, or that the contract provide for the delivery of complete backups;
• the source code be handed over to you at delivery, with the corresponding transfer of rights;
• the Google accounts be created with a company email address;
• the complete list of access credentials be handed over to you at the end of the project.

This is the principle behind the last step of my method: hosting, domain name and handover set up so that the client stays independent.

If you are recovering access to an ageing website, it is often the right time to take stock. An audit shows what can be kept, and a redesign can be prepared without losing the search rankings you have earned.