A website handover checklist helps the business take responsibility for a site after the launch project ends. The handover should explain how routine work is done, who handles technical changes and how to get help. Receiving a login is only one part of that arrangement.
Build your website handover checklist around ownership
Record who controls the domain registration, DNS, hosting, website administration and connected services. Confirm that the business has an appropriate route to manage these services if a supplier or employee changes.
Keep passwords and recovery codes out of the general handover document. Use a suitable secure transfer method and identify who is authorised to access them. An inventory can record where access is managed without containing the credentials themselves.
Agree the working responsibilities
- Who edits and approves website content?
- Who manages software updates and technical faults?
- Who checks forms and connected services?
- Who maintains backups and verifies recovery?
- Who receives renewal notices and service alerts?
Ask the delivery team to explain any work that is outside ongoing support. The business owner should know how a new feature request differs from a fault and how either is assessed. Keep contact routes available outside the website.
Demonstrate routine tasks
Use a short training session to practise a real, approved edit. The owner might update an opening time, replace a photograph or add a news item. Ask them to perform the task while the supplier observes, then document the steps that caused difficulty.
For an illustrative professional services site, a useful handover exercise could be drafting a new team profile and checking it before publication. Include what the editor should avoid changing and how to request help when the layout behaves unexpectedly.
Record dependencies and licence arrangements
List the theme, important plugins and external services the site relies on. Clarify which licences belong to the business, which are supplied under an ongoing agreement and what happens if that agreement ends. Record renewal owners and relevant support contacts.
Confirm where editable source material and approved original images are held. Ask about any restrictions on reuse. A business should understand which materials it can give to a future supplier and which require a separate arrangement.
Close the project with a visible action list
Separate completed work from known issues and later enhancements. Give every open item an owner and an agreed next step. Avoid treating a verbal promise as a completed handover action.
Set a follow-up review after the team has used the site in normal work. Collect questions during that period so the review deals with actual operating needs rather than repeating the launch presentation.
Know where hosting support fits
Review the Kilwhiss Host support information and contact us to clarify hosting responsibilities. A clear handover makes it easier for the business, designer and hosting provider to work together.