The person who set it up has gone
A nephew who moved away, a freelancer who stopped answering, an agency that closed. The good news is that everything they set up can be found from the outside, and most of it can be recovered by the business that paid for it.
Make a list of what there is
Almost every small business website involves the same handful of accounts. Find out where each one is before you try to get into any of them.
| What | How to find where it is |
|---|---|
| The domain registration | A WHOIS lookup names the registrar. See who actually controls your domain. |
| The DNS | The nameserver lookup below names the company. |
| The website hosting | Look up the address the domain points to, then who owns that address. If it is Cloudflare, the real host is hidden behind it. |
| The email | The mail lookup below. Names containing outlook.com mean Microsoft 365, and names containing google.com mean Google Workspace. |
| The website's own admin | For WordPress, add /wp-admin/ to the end of your address and see whether a login page appears. |
The three lookups, in the Command Prompt on Windows or the Terminal on a Mac:
nslookup -type=ns example.co.uk
nslookup -type=mx example.co.uk
nslookup example.co.ukDon't forget the accounts around the website: the Google Business Profile, Google Search Console, any analytics, and social media pages. They are often in the same person's name.
Search your own records
The most reliable map of who you pay is your bank or card statement. Every regular charge from a hosting, domain or email company is an account somebody holds.
Then search your inbox for words like invoice, renewal, hosting, domain, welcome and control panel. Welcome emails often name the account and the login address.
Getting back in
- If the account is in your name, use the provider's password reset. If the reset goes to an address you no longer have, the provider will have a process for proving who you are.
- If the account is in somebody else's name but you pay for it, contact the provider. Expect to show identification, proof of payment and proof that you run the business. It takes time, but providers deal with it often.
- If the domain is registered to you but sits in somebody else's account, you have the stronger hand, because you control where the website and email point. For .uk and .co.uk domains you can deal with Nominet directly.
- If you have the hosting login but not the WordPress one, most hosts provide a tool to reset a WordPress password or create a new administrator. Ask their support.
Ask nicely first
Most people who have moved on will hand things over if asked clearly. Send a short, friendly message with a list of exactly what you need: which accounts, and whether you want the login or for them to be transferred to you. A vague request for "everything" is easy to put off.
Once it's back
- Put every account in the business's name, with a business email address rather than somebody's personal one.
- Keep the logins in a password manager the business controls.
- Write the list above down, with the renewal dates, and keep it somewhere other than the website.
- Give a second trusted person access, so that this can't happen again because one person is unavailable.
- If somebody new looks after the site, give them their own login rather than yours.
If you would rather somebody sorted it
Ask me
If you have read this and still are not sure what to do, bring the error message, the supplier's email or the decision you're stuck on to a one hour call. I'll tell you what I'd do, including when the answer is to leave it alone.
An hour with me, and a written summary, or write to info@dalaric.com and say what's wrong.
Short answers
Questions people actually ask
My developer will not give me the login to my website. What can I do?
Start with what you can reach without them. If the domain is in your name you control where the website and email point, and a hosting company will usually help the person paying for an account prove they own it. Put the request in writing with a list of exactly what you need. Getting back in.
How do I find out who hosts my website?
Look up the address your domain points to, then look up who owns that address. If the answer is Cloudflare, the real host is hidden behind it, and you will need the Cloudflare account or your own invoices to find it. The lookups to run.
Is my website mine if somebody else built it?
Your domain and the words and pictures you supplied are usually straightforward. The design and code belong to whoever wrote them unless your agreement says otherwise, although somebody who paid for a website normally has the right to go on using it. If it matters, read the agreement and take proper legal advice.
More guides
Moving to a new host without breaking anything
The order that keeps the site and the email running on the day.
What kind of hosting you actually need
Shared, managed, a server of your own, and which one a small business needs.
Are you actually backed up?
The questions to ask before you need the answer.