Your web designer or developer disappeared. Here's how to get your website back.
First, breathe. Whether it was a web designer, a developer or a small agency that went quiet, you probably don't need a new website. Your website runs on a handful of accounts: the domain, the DNS settings, the hosting, your email and your Google listing. Find out who holds each one, protect anything at risk this week, then move each one into your name.
In short: don't pay anyone to give back your own website, don't start again from scratch, and don't let the domain expire. Look up which company your domain is registered with, gather proof the business is yours, and ask each company to verify you as the owner.
What to do in the first 24 hours
- Write down what you know. Your website address, who built it, any invoices, emails from hosting or domain companies, and the email address your developer used.
- Look up your domain. Type your website address into ICANN Lookup, the free public lookup run by the body that oversees domain names. It shows which company your domain is registered with and when it expires. The owner's name is often hidden for privacy, but the company and dates usually show.
- If the expiry date is close, act today. Contact that domain company and explain the situation. An expired domain can stop your website and email working.
- Search your own inbox. Try "renewal", "hosting", "invoice" and the company names you found. Old receipts are useful proof.
- Secure what you can still log into. Change the password on your email first, then anything else you have access to, and turn on two-step login.
- Don't delete anything, and don't pay to get it back. If someone asks for money to hand over your own domain, talk to the domain company instead.
The keys, and who holds each one
Your domain (your web address)
This is the one to sort first, because your website and your email both depend on it. If it was registered in your developer's name, the domain company treats them as the holder. The domain company can explain how it verifies a business owner, usually with documents like invoices. Once the domain is in your name, ICANN's current rules say the domain company must give you the transfer code within five calendar days of asking, if you want to move it.
Your DNS settings (where the domain points)
Owning the domain isn't the whole story. The DNS settings decide where your website and your email go, and they can sit somewhere else entirely, for example in a Cloudflare account your developer set up. ICANN Lookup shows the nameservers, which tell you where the DNS is kept.
Before you or anyone changes the nameservers, copy every DNS record from the current provider: the A records for the website, the MX records for email, and the TXT records such as SPF. If the domain moves to new nameservers without those records, your website or your email can stop working. A screenshot of each record is enough to start with.
Your hosting (where the site lives)
Look for a monthly or yearly charge on your bank statement or your developer's invoices. If the hosting is billed to your developer and they stop paying, the site can go offline. If that has already happened, here's what to do when your hosting has expired. Ask the hosting company what it needs to verify you, and ask for a full backup copy of your website.
Your email on your domain
If your email ends in your own domain, like you@yourbusiness.com, it relies on the domain and its DNS settings. Losing the domain, or losing the MX records, can stop email too. That's another reason the domain and DNS come first.
Your Google listing and Search Console
Google has its own process for asking for access to a Business Profile that someone else controls. Search Console, Google's free tool for website owners, doesn't need your developer at all if you can change the DNS settings. Add your domain in Search Console with your own Google account, and Google gives you a TXT record to add at your DNS provider. Once Google sees it, you're a verified owner and can see who else has access.
Being asked to pay for your own domain?
Don't pay. Talk to your domain company first. If it turns into a real dispute, speak to a lawyer.
How long do I have before the domain is gone?
For .com and other generic domains, ICANN's rules say the domain company must send at least two renewal reminders before the expiry date, to the email on its records. If that email is your developer's, you won't see them. So check the expiry date yourself in ICANN Lookup.
After the expiry date, the website and email can stop working, and there is usually a short window to renew. If the domain is then deleted, many registries offer a 30-day Redemption Grace Period to get it back, often for an extra fee. After that, anyone can buy it. Country domains such as .uk, .ca and .au have their own rules. Don't count on any of these windows: renew before the expiry date if you can. If yours has already lapsed, see what to do when your domain expired.
If the keys are in your developer's name
Start by asking, politely and in writing. People go quiet for all kinds of reasons, and a short, clear request is easy to say yes to. You could send something like this:
"Hi, I'm moving my website into my own name. Please could you send me the transfer code for my domain, a copy of the DNS records, a full backup of the website, and the logins for anything you set up for my business. Thank you."
If there's no reply, go to each company directly: the domain company first, then the DNS provider if it's a separate one, then the hosting company. If you believe a domain company has refused a transfer against the rules, ICANN has a transfer complaint form.
What if the domain was bought through a reseller?
Many web designers and small hosting companies sell domains on behalf of a bigger domain company, called the registrar. If the reseller has gone quiet too, look up your domain in ICANN Lookup. It shows the registrar behind the reseller. Contact that registrar and explain the reseller isn't answering. Some registrars, like Enom, publish a process for owners in exactly this spot.
Can I get my website if the developer registered the domain in their name?
Often, yes, but it takes some steps. The domain company deals with whoever is on its records as the registrant, even if you paid for the domain. So first, look up which company your domain is registered with. Then ask your developer, in writing, to move the domain into an account in your name, and to send your website files and logins at the same time.
If they don't reply, contact the domain company directly. Show that the business uses the domain, for example with invoices, receipts or emails. Each domain company has its own process, and some cases take longer. Keep copies of everything you send. If your developer refuses and it turns into a dispute, speak to a lawyer.
What if my developer owns the domain?
Then they control it until it's moved to you: where the website points, where your email goes, and whether it renews. Ask them to transfer it to an account in your name, and watch the renewal date. If a domain isn't renewed and its grace period runs out, someone else can buy it. Once it's yours, turn on two-step login and auto-renew.
Other accounts to take back
The domain, DNS and hosting keep the website online. These run parts of your business, and developers often set them up under their own logins:
- Payments. The account that takes card payments on your site, and where the money lands. Check the payout bank account is yours.
- Bookings and forms. The booking tool or form service, and the email address enquiries are sent to.
- Plugin and theme licences. Paid add-ons need a valid licence to keep getting updates. Ask the seller to move the licence to you, or buy one in your name.
- Google Analytics and Tag Manager. Ask for admin access, or add yourself once you're a verified owner elsewhere in Google.
How to make sure it never happens again
- Everything in your name and your email. Your domain, DNS, hosting and Google listing, registered to you, with your email for renewal reminders.
- One list of every key. What each account is, whose name it's in and when it renews. Passwords live in a password manager in your name, not in a list.
- Old access removed. When someone stops working on your website, their logins go too.
Month 1 is getting every key back in your name.
This page is the emergency first step. The full job, finding every key, recovering it, moving it into your name and keeping it there, is part of your first month on every plan.
We write the requests for you, work with the domain and hosting companies, and record every key in a register you can see any time. You hold the keys. We're added as named users, which you can remove whenever you like.
- Month to month, no setup fee
- Your domain, hosting and logins in your name
- A keys register you can see any time
- Old developer access removed once you confirm
- If you leave, everything is already yours
Questions owners ask when they're locked out.
Something else? Ask in the chat, email hello@penguina.website or WhatsApp us.
Do I own my website if my web designer or developer built it?
Paying for a website isn't always the same as holding it. What matters day to day is whose name the domain, hosting and logins are in. Who owns the design and content can depend on your agreement with whoever built it. If it becomes a dispute, speak to a lawyer.
My domain is in my developer's name. Can I still get it back?
Start by asking your developer in writing. If they don't reply, contact the domain company, which can explain how it verifies a business owner. Don't pay anyone who demands money for your own domain.
What happens if my domain expires while I'm sorting this out?
When a domain expires, the domain company can switch it off, and your website and email stop working with it. Look up the expiry date today, and if it's close, contact the domain company straight away.
How long do I have before an expired domain is gone?
For .com and other generic domains, ICANN's rules say the domain company must send at least two reminders before the expiry date. After expiry there is usually a short window to renew, and once a domain is deleted many registries offer a 30-day Redemption Grace Period to get it back, often for an extra fee. Country domains such as .uk, .ca and .au have their own rules. Don't count on these windows: renew before the expiry date if you can.
The domain was bought through a reseller who won't answer. What now?
Many small companies sell domains on behalf of a bigger domain company, called the registrar. ICANN Lookup shows which registrar your domain sits with. If the reseller doesn't answer, contact that registrar: some, like Enom, publish a process for owners whose reseller can't be reached.
Will changing nameservers stop my email?
It can. Your email settings live in the DNS records. If you point the domain to new nameservers without copying those records first, email can stop arriving. Copy every record, especially the MX and SPF records, before you change anything.
Can I get Search Console back without my developer?
Yes, if you can change your domain's DNS settings. Add your domain in Search Console with your own Google account, and Google gives you a TXT record to add at your DNS provider. Once Google sees it, you're a verified owner.
Can you rescue the site if nobody has the hosting login?
We look at what's possible first: the hosting company may be able to verify you, or there may be a backup. We tell you which applies before anything costs you money.
Will my email keep working while you take over?
We plan the order of changes so email keeps working, and we check it after each step. If the domain itself is at risk, that's what we sort first.
Do I have to sign a long contract?
No. Every plan is month to month, with no setup fee. Getting every key into your name is part of Month 1 on every plan, and your first fix is free.
Can I get my website if the developer registered the domain in their name?
Often, yes, but it takes some steps. The domain company deals with whoever is on its records as the registrant, even if you paid for the domain. Ask your developer, in writing, to move the domain into an account in your name. If they don't reply, contact the domain company directly and show that the business uses the domain, for example with invoices or emails. Each domain company has its own process.
What if my developer owns the domain?
Then they control it until it's moved to you: where the website points, where your email goes, and whether it renews. Ask them to transfer it to an account in your name, and watch the renewal date, because if a domain isn't renewed and its grace period runs out, someone else can buy it.
Not sure where to start? Send us your website.
We look at it the way a customer would, find up to 3 real problems, and fix one of them free. No call needed.