Leaving a designer feels like a breakup, and the fear is usually practical: will the site vanish, will email stop, will they hold the domain hostage. The truth is that the domain, the hosting and the site are separate things, and a switch is mostly a matter of doing three or four steps in the right order.
Step one: confirm who the registrant is
Look your domain up in a public registration lookup and read the registrant field. Your name or your business means you hold the name and can move it freely. If the designer is listed, that is not the end of the road, but it is the first thing to sort out, and the sooner the better.
Also check the registrar’s own account. A few designers keep the name registered under their login even when you are named as the owner, which is a different problem from the public record.
The handover in four moves
- ✓Confirm the registrant — is it you, your business or the designer
- ✓Release the domain lock — registrars lock names by default, and a lock must be removed before a transfer
- ✓Point the DNS — the settings that say which server answers for your address
- ✓Move or protect the email — mailboxes often live separately and need to stay connected
DNS and email are where problems hide
DNS is a short list of settings that route your address to your site and your email. Change the wrong one and mail stops arriving for a day or two. Before touching anything, copy down every existing record so you can put them back if needed.
Email deserves its own check. Ask where your mailboxes are stored and who pays for them. If the old designer provides the mailboxes, you need a new home before they are cut off.
What happens on our side
We rebuild your site on our managed hosting using your existing wording, logo and photos, so your old designer does not need to participate. You approve the new site before we point your domain, and the old site keeps working until that moment. Backups, security updates and support are included, with Website Care at $30/month covering the ongoing hosting and small edits.
We do not edit inside the old designer’s platform and we do not recover old data. If you have exported files or copies of your content, send them along.
What to have ready
- ✓The web address — exactly as it appears
- ✓Domain registrar name and login if you have it — or tell us you are unsure
- ✓Where email lives — the provider name, or what your inbox looks like
- ✓The old designer’s contact — only if you want us to coordinate
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We cannot force a transfer — a registrar or host sets the rules for releasing a name
- ✓Transfers can take days — the registry controls the timing, not us
- ✓No promised timing for restoration — we confirm the schedule after review
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 · My web designer disappeared · Keep your domain, switch platforms · How it works
