What to Check at Handover: Accounts, Code, Domain and Analytics
At handover you should walk away holding the code, the repository and the database, plus admin access to the domain, the analytics and every account the site depends on. On our projects the client owns the code, the repository and the database at every step, from a EUR 600-900 single-page landing to a custom SaaS platform from EUR 7.500.
Handover is the last moment everyone on the project is paying attention at the same time. Anything you leave unchecked that week becomes a request you make later, when the people who built the site are busy with something else.
What holding something actually means
Holding an item means you can log in without asking anyone, add or remove people, and see who pays the bill. Viewer access is not holding it. A password someone emailed you is not holding it either, because you cannot know who else has that password.
You can run every check below yourself, without a developer. Judging the quality of the code needs one. Confirming that you own the repository it lives in does not, and a second developer can only review code that is already yours. How we build code meant to be read by the next person is on design and engineering.
| Item | What holding it means | Check it yourself | From step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Registered in an account in your business's name, with your email as the contact | Log in to the registrar, find the domain, check the renewal date and that auto-renew is on | 01 |
| DNS records | You can see and change the records for the site, your email and any verifications | Export or screenshot the record list and keep a copy outside the registrar | 01 |
| Code and repository | The repository with its full history, in an account you own | Open it as yourself and confirm your role is owner, not collaborator | 01 |
| Hosting and deployment | Written down: where the site runs, whose account it is, how a new version goes live | Read the deploy notes and match them to what you see in the hosting account | 01 |
| Analytics | Admin role on the property, on your own login | Open the admin settings and find your email with full permissions | 01 |
| Form submissions | Every form sends to an inbox you read | Submit each form once and see where it lands | 01 |
| Licences | Fonts, photos and paid plugins licensed to your business | Ask for the licence records or invoices | 01 |
| CMS | An admin login that can add and remove editors | Add a test editor, then remove them | 02 |
| Booking or contact tool | The tool's account and its notification settings | Make a test booking and cancel it | 03 |
| Database | Owner access and a way to export the data | Download an export and open it | 03 |
| Connected services and keys | A written list of every API, CRM and login service the site uses, with keys named but not pasted | Match the list against the services you are billed for | 04 |
| Payment provider | The account in your business's name, paying out to your bank account | Log in to the provider dashboard and check the payout details | 04 |
What makes the list longer
The step you bought decides how long this list is. A step 01 single-page landing at EUR 600-900 is one page, a form, analytics and a responsive build, so its handover is short: domain, code, deployment, analytics and the form destination. A step 02 mini-site at EUR 900-1.500 adds a basic CMS, and with it one more login to check.
A step 03 business website at EUR 1.500-3.500 brings 4-7 pages, a CMS, service pages and a booking or contact flow. Each outside tool behind those features has its own account, and each account is a row on your checklist.
Step 04, the advanced site or web app at EUR 3.500-7.500, is where the list changes character. Login, a dashboard, API connections, a CRM, payments and a chatbot each put a service in charge of data or money on your behalf. At step 05, a custom SaaS platform from EUR 7.500, add billing, the admin area and the deployment pipeline itself.
Hosting, stated plainly
We can host a site, and whether we do is agreed per project during scoping. What matters at handover is that the arrangement is on paper: where the site runs, whose name is on the account, who pays for it, and what moving it would involve. If that is missing for a site you already have, close that gap first, whoever built it.
How handover fits the build weeks
Handover runs through the weeks the build already takes: 1-2 weeks for step 01, 2-3 weeks for step 02, 3-6 weeks for step 03 and 6-12 weeks for step 04. Step 05 is timed after discovery.
- Scoping. List every account the site will need and decide, per account, whose name it goes in. Hosting is agreed here, and the fixed quote follows.
- Start of the build. The accounts agreed at scoping are opened. Payment providers and some business tools ask for company documents and identity checks before they switch on. This is the part that waits on you, so start it first.
- During the build. Accept invitations as they arrive and log in once, so a wrong email address or an expired invite shows up while there is still time.
- Launch. The domain points at the live site, analytics records a real visit, and every form is submitted once for real.
- Handover. Go through the table together, row by row, with you logged in. Then decide what access the studio keeps.
When to spend less
If you bought a step 01 landing page, do not turn handover into a project. You need the domain in your name, the code, the deployment written down, analytics on your own login and a form that reaches an inbox you read. A thick documentation pack for one page is money spent on paper.
You also do not need Care at EUR 100-300 a month simply because a site went live. Care covers updates, monitoring, backups and small fixes, and it does not cover a redesign or new features. If the page will sit unchanged, ask how updates and backups are handled without it, then decide.
The same goes for search. The SEO foundation at EUR 450-750 is a one-off: Console, analytics, indexation, technical hygiene, titles, internal links and a 3-6 month plan. Do that before you commit to SEO growth at EUR 500-800 a month.
Questions buyers ask about handover
Is a zip file of the code enough?
No. A zip holds the final files without their history, so the next developer cannot see why anything was changed. Ask for the repository itself, the build and deploy instructions, and a list of the environment variables the site needs, by name. The values belong in a password manager, not in an email thread.
Should the studio keep access after handover?
Only the access you decide to give. If you take Care, the studio needs enough access to update, monitor and back up the site. If you do not, remove the logins you no longer want active. If the accounts are in your name, that is a change you can make yourself.
Our previous agency still holds the domain. Where do we start?
Start with the domain, before the code or anything else, because your email and your place in search both hang on it. Ask for a transfer to a registrar account in your business's name, and ask for the current DNS records before the move.
We want payments later. Does that change handover?
Yes. Payments, step 04 in a new build or an add-on at EUR 600-1.500 on an existing site, bring their own rows: a payment provider account in your business's name, payouts to your own bank account, and a clear note of where the test and live keys are kept. The full ladder is on packages.
If you want to walk through this list for your own project before anything is built, tell us what you are building.
Building something?
JP Studio designs and builds websites, storefronts and product interfaces.