It is a stomach-dropping feeling. The person who built your site stops replying, the invoice questions go unanswered and you are not sure you can even log in. Most of the time the situation is more fixable than it feels, because the pieces that matter most are usually registered to you or can be traced.
First, find out who owns your domain
Your domain name is the most important piece, because it is your address on the internet. Look your domain up in a public registration lookup and see who is listed as the registrant. If it is you or your business, you are in control and nothing the designer does or does not do can take it away.
If the designer registered it in their own name, you can still usually move it. Registrars have a process for proving that you are the business using the name, and a designer who has gone quiet is a common reason people use it. Gather your business registration, an old invoice and any emails that show the designer acting on your behalf.
The four things to track down
- ✓The domain registrar — where the name is registered and renewed
- ✓The host — the server that stores the site files and keeps them online
- ✓The site tool — the builder or platform the site was made with
- ✓The email provider — where your business inbox lives, which can break if the domain changes hands
What we do when you hand it to us
We do not need your designer to cooperate. We build your new site on our managed hosting using what you can supply: your logo, your photos, your wording from the old site and anything you remember about how you want to be found. Your domain stays yours the whole time, and we only point it at the new site once you have approved it, so visitors keep seeing a working page until the switch.
Backups, security updates and support come with Website Care at $30/month, so the next time something needs changing there is a person to ask.
What to send us
- ✓The web address — so we can see what is live today
- ✓Anything you can log into — registrar, host or email, even if you are unsure what it is
- ✓Your logo and photos — or tell us they are missing and we will plan around it
- ✓A list of what the site must do — calls, forms, booking, directions
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We rebuild rather than repair — the new site runs on our hosting
- ✓We cannot recover a login for you — the registrar or host controls that
- ✓We never promise to restore old data — we work from what you can supply
One example of what your site could look like
This is one sample we designed. Yours is built around your business, your photos and your words, and we have more examples if you want to compare directions.
What it costs
Websites are priced one-time by size, plus Website Care at $30/month for hosting, HTTPS, backups, weekly checks and A/B testing. Every package includes a consultation, mobile-friendly design, copy we write for you, a contact form, essential search setup and 10 revision rounds. Monthly SEO is an optional add-on when you are ready for it.
Optional add-ons, billed separately
The prices above are for your website. These two are separate monthly products you can add now or later. Neither is part of the website price.
Monthly SEO, from $50/month: new pages published on your site every month. See Monthly SEO →
Business Spotlight, from $30/month: articles about your business, labeled as paid, published on The Company Chronicle. See Business Spotlight →
How it works
1. Consultation
We learn your services, customers and goals, in English or Spanish.
2. We write and design
We draft the words and build the site around your business.
3. 10 revision rounds
You review and request changes until it is right.
4. Launch and care
We launch, then Website Care keeps it hosted, backed up, checked weekly and A/B tested.
Keep reading
Who owns your website · Switch designers and keep your domain · My website is down
