Take over an app or website your developer left behind

This guide is for business owners, charities and solo founders whose app or website was built by a freelancer, agency or former colleague who has now gone quiet, moved on or fallen out with them. Losing control of a live system is one of the most expensive situations in small-business technology, because domains lapse, hosting bills bounce and nobody knows how to deploy a fix. You will work through ownership, access, backups, an honest health check and a decision on what to do next. At the end you will hold the keys, a working backup, a written map of the system and a clear brief for whoever looks after it from now on.

What is inside

• Full step-by-step method9 detailed steps with decision points
• Ready-to-use templatesHandover request email to the previous developer · Brief for an independent health check · System map one-page register
• Timed action plan7 stages from “Day 1” to “Month 2”
• Costly mistakes to avoid4 traps and what to do instead
• Complete checklist12 items to tick off
• Insider tips and fixes4 tips and 4 common problems solved

Step by step

1. List everything the system depends on

   Before contacting anyone, write down every part you know about: domain name, DNS, hosting or cloud account, code repository, database, email sending service, payment provider, app store listings, analytics and any paid plugins or APIs. Look through your bank and card statements for recurring charges, because each one is usually a service the system relies on. Check old invoices and emails from the developer for names of tools and accounts. Mark each item with who currently controls the login: you, the developer, or unknown. The unknowns are your priority list, and anything billed to the developer's card is at risk the moment they stop paying.