What a Design Handover Includes, and Why the Format Matters
A proper design handover gives you six things: the code in a repository you own, the database where there is one, the design written down as exact values, a list of every account and who holds it, the assets with their licences, and documentation someone else can follow. At JP Studio the code, the repository and the database are yours at every step of the price list, from EUR 600-900 for a single-page landing to from EUR 7.500 for a custom SaaS platform.
The format of each item matters as much as the list. "You get everything at the end" can mean a zip file and a PDF, and you only find out which kind of handover you received when you hire a different developer, redesign or move host.
What sits behind a handover, item by item
| Item | The format that holds up | Why the format matters later |
|---|---|---|
| Code | A Git repository with its full history, and it is yours | A zip file has the code but not the record of why it changed, which is what the next developer reads first |
| Database | Yours, exportable as SQL or CSV | Form submissions, bookings and customer records move with you instead of staying behind someone else's login |
| Design | Colours, type sizes and spacing as named values in the code, logo files in SVG | A PDF of mockups gives a rebuilder a picture to guess from. A hex value gives them the exact colour |
| Accounts | A list of the domain, analytics, Search Console, CMS and other services, who holds each one, and how access moves if you change supplier | An account registered to an agency email is the hardest item to recover, because getting it back depends on their goodwill |
| Assets and licences | Original image files, fonts and icons, with a list of which are licensed and to whom | A font or stock photo licence can be tied to one buyer or one site, which matters when a redesign reuses it |
| Documentation | A README on running and deploying the site, the environment variables by name, and a plain guide to editing content | Without it, the next developer bills you for rediscovering what the original team knew |
Hosting is not on that list by default. We can host, agreed per project, and with the code, the repository and the database in your hands, moving host later is a deployment job, not a rebuild.
What the handover adds at each step
A one-page site has little to document. A web app with logins and payments has a lot, and a missing piece there is expensive to reconstruct.
| Step | Price | Build time | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Single-page landing | EUR 600-900 | 1-2 weeks | Repository, analytics access, where form submissions go, DNS notes for your domain |
| 02 Mini-site | EUR 900-1.500 | 2-3 weeks | The above, plus the basic CMS login and a short editing guide |
| 03 Business website | EUR 1.500-3.500 | 3-6 weeks | CMS content model, service page templates, the booking or contact setup, a content export route |
| 04 Advanced site / web app | EUR 3.500-7.500 | 6-12 weeks | User login, dashboard, API and CRM notes, a payment provider account your company controls, chatbot configuration |
| 05 Custom SaaS platform | from EUR 7.500 | after discovery | Auth, billing, admin, the deployment pipeline and a release runbook, defined during discovery |
What moves a price inside a step is the build itself: how much content exists, how many systems the site connects to, how many languages it runs in. A fixed quote always follows scoping, and launch, handover and a walkthrough are part of it. The full ladder is on the price list.
Why the format decides what happens later
When you hire a different developer
Given a repository and a README, a new developer can run the site and read how it reached its current state. Given a zip file and a login, they start by reverse engineering, at your expense. We build with Next.js, so a developer who knows it can take over, as our Next.js page explains.
When you redesign
If the brand colour is one named value in the code, changing it is one edit. If it was typed into every component, it is a search through the whole site. We design and build in code, so the design you approve and the values in the repository are the same thing, as design and engineering explains.
When you move host or sell the business
Documentation that names each environment variable, the service it comes from and where each value is held lets a new host be set up without starting from scratch. Account and licence lists also answer a buyer's due diligence: who owns the code, where customer data lives, which licences transfer.
Passwords do not belong in a handover
A handover document full of passwords is a warning sign, because it means the agency opened the accounts and is passing them across afterwards. The better pattern is agreeing at the start who holds each account, with everyone else invited as a user and removed when the work ends. The handover lists what exists and where, never the secrets.
How handovers should run
- At the start: who holds each account, hosting included, is agreed and written into the scope.
- During the build: a preview link, so launch day is not the first time you see the site.
- Before launch: the README, editing guide, account list and licence list, checked against the live setup.
- After launch: the supplier's access removed wherever you want them off.
Whoever builds the site, keep the domain and, at step 04, the payment provider in accounts your company controls.
When to spend less
For a step 01 landing page at EUR 600-900, do not pay anyone for a design system document. A repository, analytics access and a note on where the form sends its submissions is a complete handover for one page.
If you are still testing whether anyone wants what you sell, a website builder with a monthly fee is a fair choice. There is no code to hand over, which is acceptable until the site holds something you would hate to lose. And if someone on your team can look after the site, skip Care: at EUR 100-300/mo it covers updates, monitoring, backups and small fixes, not redesign or new features, and a good handover makes it optional.
Questions buyers ask
Do I get the design files?
You get the finished design, and on a site built in code the repository is where it lives: colours, type and spacing are named values. Ask for logo files in SVG and the working design files from the project. If a studio offers only a PDF of mockups, ask where the exact values are kept.
My current agency will not hand over the code. What can I still get?
Start with what is plainly yours: the domain, your written content, your images and an export of your data. Ask for the repository in writing. If the site was made on a proprietary platform, there may be no portable code to give, which is worth knowing before you plan a move.
Is the handover included in the price?
The code, the repository and the database are yours at every step. For anything else, check that the fixed quote names it. You should not pay twice to receive what you already own.
Can another developer take over from the handover alone?
If they work with Next.js, yes. The code and the repository are yours, and the repository history tells them why it is built the way it is.
If you want a fixed quote, tell us what you are building at contact.
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JP Studio designs and builds websites, storefronts and product interfaces.