Website developer not responding? Start here.

1. Identify the accounts your business controls.

Your domain registration, website hosting, content-management login and business email may be separate services. A login to edit a page does not necessarily let you renew the domain or change hosting.

Make a list of each provider, the named account owner, renewal date and the person who can grant access. Use existing invoices and account records. Keep passwords and recovery codes out of the list you share with a new provider.

If the domain is registered through your developer, ask how ownership and management are recorded. For a .ca domain, CIRA's domain support guidance is a useful starting point. Do not cancel the existing registration or hosting to force a handover.

2. Send one specific, written request.

Describe the exact change, why you need it and the date you would like a response. Ask the provider to confirm the scope, price and delivery date. Separate a new paid task from work already covered by your agreement.

Could you confirm whether you can complete these two updates: [changes]? Please send the scope, price and expected delivery date. If you are unavailable, please explain the handover process and which accounts or files we need.

Keep the answer with your project records. If ownership or contractual rights are disputed, resolve that issue before authorizing a new supplier to move the site.

3. Protect the website and business email.

Before changes begin, agree on a backup and a way to restore it. A screenshot is a useful visual reference, but it is not a website backup. A supported backup may need the database, uploaded media, code, theme and configuration.

Business email can depend on DNS records managed alongside the website. Ask who manages those records and confirm the email provider before changing nameservers or hosting. A website move should have an explicit plan for preserving email service.

4. Give the new provider a complete handover.

• Domain registrar, account ownership and renewal date.
• Hosting provider, website platform and a tested backup or recovery plan.
• Appropriate account invitations for the agreed work.
• Business email provider and the person responsible for DNS.
• Access to the correct Search Console, analytics and Google business properties.
• Form destinations, booking links and other connected services.
• Paid plugins, themes, licences and their renewal arrangements.
• A list of important pages and URLs to preserve.

Ask the new provider to review the setup before promising that every old feature can be maintained. Unsupported software or inaccessible accounts can change the scope.

5. Check the work before closing the handover.

Open the site on a phone and desktop. Check service pages, menus, contact details, booking links and the main enquiry form. Agree on a labelled test message and confirm it arrives in the correct inbox.

If URLs change, ask for an appropriate redirect plan and sitemap review. Search performance should be compared with a dated baseline. A handover by itself is not evidence of better rankings or more customers.

Once the work is accepted, review access together. Your business should retain ownership and appropriate recovery access. Remove access that is no longer required through the service's normal account controls.

How Luminary can help.

We can review the public website first and explain what appears to need attention. Account recovery, complex legacy repair and migrations need a separate assessment; a free review does not include those tasks.

For a suitable supported website, our website support service sits within the CAD $250/month Local Growth Plan. There is a three-month initial term, and third-party costs are separate. See the full scope.