Free checklist for small-business owners

Website ownership checklist for business owners

By Sonny Saggar

Your website works. That is good. Could somebody else keep it working if the person who built it vanished tomorrow? That is a different question.

This checklist helps you find the answer without learning to code. A tick means you have checked it yourself, not simply been told that everything is fine. No signup is required; nothing you tick is uploaded or saved.

Check these twelve things

1. I can sign in to the account that controls the domain name.
2. The business controls that account’s recovery email and phone.
3. I know where the domain’s DNS settings are managed.
4. I can sign in to the hosting or deployment account.
5. I have my own website administrator login.
6. I know where the website source, export or usable copy lives.
7. A complete backup is stored somewhere the business controls.
8. I can see the date of the last successful backup.
9. Forms, business email, analytics and payment connections are documented.
10. The business controls billing, renewals and renewal reminders.
11. Collaborators have separate accounts instead of sharing my password.
12. A replacement developer has clear instructions for restoring and maintaining the site.

If you find a gap

Write down the missing item and who can help resolve it. Start with access and recovery: possession of a folder of files does not prove that you control the domain or can restore the service.

Ask your current developer: “Please help me verify these items and show another developer how to take over.” Keep working access in place while arranging a handover. Do not send passwords in ordinary messages; use the provider’s invitation and recovery functions.

The proof: a takeover rehearsal

You sign in independently. You save the recovery pack. A second developer uses the pack to restore a working test copy without the original developer’s help. Test on a separate environment, not over the live business website. Check the functions your business depends on, including forms and external integrations.

A backup date is useful evidence. A successful independent restoration is stronger evidence. Treat any untested step as unfinished.

Your one-page handover note

Record the domain provider, hosting provider, account owner, recovery method, backup location, last verified backup date, renewal dates and where the technical restoration instructions live. Record how to obtain access securely, not secret passwords on a public or casually shared sheet.

Print this checklist

What the book adds

The checklist identifies gaps. If Your Website Person Disappears explains access, ownership, backups and handover in plain English, so you can ask the right questions and arrange the next steps. Your job is to sign in, save a copy and choose who maintains your website.

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