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8

WEBSITE HANDOVERS

The Definitive Guide

8 chapters Last updated 21 September 2026 Free to read, no account

Every business eventually runs on infrastructure configured by somebody who has left. The website was built by an agency three agencies ago, the domain was registered by a founder who exited, the mail was migrated by a contractor.

None of that matters while it works. It matters the week something needs to change, and the information that would help was never written down because writing it was nobody's job.

This guide covers what a handover actually needs to contain, how to take one over when it does not exist, and how to leave one behind that is worth having.

In this guide you will learn:

  • What a complete handover contains, item by item
  • How to establish an inventory when nobody remembers anything
  • Which access matters and which is decorative
  • What to check in the first week of inheriting a client
  • How to charge for the audit that produces this
  • What cannot be recovered afterwards, at any price

Contents

1

What actually needs handing over

The list, and why most handovers contain a fraction of it.
2

Building an inventory from nothing

What is publicly discoverable, and what needs asking.
3

Access that matters

Registrar, DNS, host, mail, and which one is load-bearing.
4

The first week with a new client

A checklist for agencies, and how to bill it.
5

The questions that arrive later

Audits, insurance, disputes, and what each one asks.
6

What cannot be reconstructed

Previous values, dates, and evidence of continuity.
7

Leaving a good one behind

What your successor will need and cannot ask you for.
8

Keeping it current

A document written once is wrong within a year.

Chapter 1

What actually needs handing over

The list, and why most handovers contain a fraction of it.

What actually needs handing over

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 2

Building an inventory from nothing

What is publicly discoverable, and what needs asking.

Building an inventory from nothing

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 3

Access that matters

Registrar, DNS, host, mail, and which one is load-bearing.

Access that matters

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 4

The first week with a new client

A checklist for agencies, and how to bill it.

The first week with a new client

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 5

The questions that arrive later

Audits, insurance, disputes, and what each one asks.

The questions that arrive later

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 6

What cannot be reconstructed

Previous values, dates, and evidence of continuity.

What cannot be reconstructed

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 7

Leaving a good one behind

What your successor will need and cannot ask you for.

Leaving a good one behind

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Chapter 8

Keeping it current

A document written once is wrong within a year.

Keeping it current

This chapter is not written yet. Drop the prose into guide-bodies/<body>.html and rebuild.

Check yours

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