Do You Own Your Website? Domain, Hosting and Code Ownership Check
A new service: I find where your domain, DNS, hosting, email, code and app accounts live, whose name each one is in and who can log in, then give you a one-page map and a plan to move everything into your name. From $195 ($150 founding), about a week. For owners whose developer left or went quiet.
See a sample report, proposal and weekly update- Price
- from $195
- Founding
- from $150
- Timeline
- ~1 week
- Format
- Fixed scope, fixed price
- Hours
- US Eastern Time, async
Who this is for.
A good fit if
- Owners whose developer or web designer left or stopped answering
- New owners who never got the logins for what they paid for
- Anyone buying a business and checking what comes with it
Common triggers
- A domain renewal notice to an email nobody reads
- The developer who holds all the logins went quiet
- You don’t know where the site is hosted or who pays for it
- You’re about to hire a new developer and need to hand over access
Not a fit if
- You want access to accounts that aren’t legally yours (I only use official recovery with proof of ownership)
- You need a legal dispute handled (I give your lawyer the facts)
- You want the site rebuilt now (see Project Rescue)
What I do, and what you get.
What I do
- Look up the domain’s registrar, registrant and expiry date, and where DNS, email and hosting point
- Find the other accounts the site depends on: code repository, hosting, email sending, payments, analytics, app stores
- For each one, record whose name it’s in, who can log in and when it renews
- Rank the risks: expiring domains, accounts in someone else’s name, no backups
- Write the plan to move each account into your name, including the registrar’s own recovery steps
- Draft a polite, factual handover request for the previous developer
- On Standard, do the moves with you and take a fresh backup
What you get
- A one-page “who holds the keys” map
- A ranked risk list with renewal dates
- A step-by-step transfer plan, account by account
- A handover request you can send to the previous developer
- On Standard, accounts moved into your name, a backup of the site and code, and a password-manager-ready list of logins
- Handover notes
Your part
- Proof that the business is yours, for registrar and host recovery
- Any invoices, emails or logins you have from the previous developer
- Being available to confirm codes and emails during recovery
Included
- Domain, DNS, hosting and email lookup
- Map of dependent accounts
- Risk list and transfer plan
- Handover request draft
- Moving up to 5 accounts and a fresh backup (Standard)
Not included
- Getting into accounts without the owner’s authority
- Legal action or dealing with lawyers
- Fixing or rebuilding the site (quoted separately)
- Mailbox migration
Fixed prices, agreed before work starts.
The map, risk list, transfer plan and handover request for one website or app
Everything in Starter, plus moving up to 5 accounts into your name and a fresh backup
Build your scope
- Timeline
- ~1 week
- Payment
- Paid in full before work starts
- Earliest start
- Oct 5
The fee is credited in full toward a follow-on project of $1,000+ approved within 30 days.
Not a commitment. I confirm the exact price in a written proposal.Founding price: 3 of 7 spots left, until Mar 31, 2027 — one-off work, in return for a testimonial. How it works
Prices are in USD, paid by bank transfer against an invoice. Work under $1,000 is paid upfront; larger work is 50% to start and 50% before handover, or monthly milestones. The full fee of this service is credited toward a follow-on project of $1,000 or more that you approve within 30 days.How working together works
Variations
- Developer still answers
- Mostly a clean handover checklist, done quickly.
- Developer disappeared
- Official recovery through the registrar and host, with your proof of ownership.
- Buying a business
- The map is written for the buyer, before the sale closes.
- Agency taking over a client site
- A handover checklist the agency can share with its client.
How it runs.
- 01
Describe the situation
Email your website address and what you know.
- 02
Invoice
You pay a fixed fee.
- 03
Map
I trace every account and write the map and plan.
- 04
Move (Standard)
We move the accounts into your name together.
- 05
Next step
If the site needs work, you get a fixed quote.
A new service, done openly.
I have not delivered this exact service for a client before, so there is no case study to point to yet. The approach above is built from parts I have shipped in production — see the case studies — and the fixed price and written scope protect you while it is new.
Questions buyers ask.
Can you get into my site if the developer won’t hand over the logins?
Only through official routes: the registrar’s and host’s ownership recovery, using proof that the business is yours. I don’t bypass logins.
What if the domain is registered in the developer’s name?
The plan covers it: a polite transfer request first, then the registrar’s dispute process with your evidence if needed. Your lawyer handles anything legal.
Will my site go down?
No. Mapping changes nothing. On Standard, moves are planned so the site and email keep working.
Is the fee credited?
Yes. If you approve a follow-on project of $1,000 or more within 30 days, the fee comes off it.
Ask about Ownership & Access Check.
Tell me what you have and where it hurts. I reply within one US business day with either a fixed quote or the entry step that makes a fixed quote possible.
Helpful to include
- Your website address
- Who built it, and whether they still answer
- Any logins, invoices or emails you have
- Any renewal or deadline you know of
More in Project Rescue & Takeover
Codebase Assessment
A fixed-price, written review of your existing app: code quality, security basics, tests, dependencies, hosting and what it would take to finish, fix or upgrade it. For founders and agencies taking over or rescuing a project. From $520 ($400 founding), about 1–2 weeks. The fee is credited toward follow-on work.
Rescue & Finish
When a developer or agency left your app half-built or unstable, I take it over after a Codebase Assessment, stabilize it, and finish the agreed scope in fixed monthly phases. For Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go and Python apps. From $1,300 ($1,000 founding) per monthly phase. Every rescue starts with an assessment.
AI-Built App Rescue
A new service: a fixed-price audit of an app built with Lovable, Bolt, Cursor or similar tools, covering data access rules, exposed keys, auth, backups and deploy, with a clear fix plan. I make the fixes on Laravel, Vue/Nuxt, Go, Python and Postgres/Supabase SQL. Audit from $390 ($300 founding), about a week.