You hired a web developer to build your website. Perfect! You got your website done and your developer has published your website live. Great! What’s next?
The next thing is to take handover of your website.
It is highly recommended that you take handover of your website from your web developer. This is because you will be able to fully understand the content of your website, be in control of your website and make changes to it yourself. You will also be able to make changes quickly if there are any urgent issues.
But many webmasters or website owners aren’t sure about the items that should be included in the website handover process.
So, in this blog post, we are sharing 5 essential items that must be provided to you by your web developer during your website handover.
Let’s dive in!
#1 Source codes
You must ensure that the web developer hands over you the source codes of your website after its completion.
You need these codes to make any changes in the future if needed.
It’s not necessary that you will always hire the same web designer or developer to work on your site. You may want to change your developer if you aren’t happy with the performance or support of your existing developer. In an event like this, you need to have full & unlocked source codes for your website.
Therefore, when your website is completed and published, you must arrange a proper handover from your web developer that must include the source codes as well.
When you have source codes for your website, you are free to hire any website creator who you think will provide you with the best services.
#2 Website manual
To enable you or your colleagues & staff to manage the website, you must get a manual from your website developer. This manual must show you how you can edit the existing information on your website and how you can add new pages to your website. If you don’t have a proper website manual, you will have to hire a web developer each time when you want to make any changes to your site.
Therefore, you must ensure that you get a manual from your web developer during the website handover process.
At Innomedia, we also provide our clients with a manual that enables them to:
- Add new pages to the website.
- Add new blog posts to the website.
- Check the form submissions.
- Add or manage the website navigation menu.
- Manage various widgets or blocks of the website.
#3 Server details
Server details are perhaps the most confidential & important information that you must have with you. Especially, if your web developer is hosting your website, you must ensure that the website handover process includes sharing the server details as well.
In the absence of website server information, you may have to rebuild your website from scratch if you wish to redesign it or make some changes to it.
Technically speaking, you can’t access any of the files of your website if you don’t have the server details with you.
What does the server information include?
- Control panel access to your website
- FTP details of the website
As a web design company, we’ve experienced a few times that our clients don’t have their server information with them and they do not even get hold of their previous developer. As a result, we had to build a new website for them and we also assisted them to get a new web hosting service.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Always make sure to ask your website developer for the server/hosting information of your website after the completion of your website development or at the time of website handover.
#4 Design source files
One of the most important elements of your website design is your graphics. These include logos, images, and icons. In order to make any changes to these in the future, you need to provide your web developer with the original source files for all of them. If you don’t have these files, your designer might face challenges and eventually be unable to make any changes.
Let us give you an example.
Imagine you would like to change the color, background, or logo size on your home page. If you provide the source files for your logo, your designer can easily make these changes for you. But if you don’t have them, it may be difficult for your designer to make even minor alterations.
Therefore, your website handover process must include the design source files. However if your web developer has used a theme and not any custom design, he may not be able to provide you with the source files of the design. In this case, you can just request your developer to send over the logo’s source files only.
#5 Misc login details
Other than the server credentials, there could be several other important things for which you may need the login details.
Here are some of the important login credentials that you need to take from your web developer during the handover process:
- Plugins login details or license key.
- Theme’s license key.
- Google Analytics login details.
When you get the above login details from your original developer, you can easily hire a new web developer, if required, and get the required changes done to your website easily & hassle-free.
