Ask for seven things, and ask in one written message: domain control, hosting login, site admin login, a full backup, your own content files, the design source files, and a list of anything registered in their name on your behalf. Three of those seven you can obtain without their cooperation at all.
The moment it happens
Your developer quit halfway — what files and access can you demand becomes urgent when a new developer asks their first question: “can you send me the access?” You don’t know what to send, or what you’re entitled to, or how to ask without starting a fight.
The wording matters more than the entitlement. A request framed as records-keeping gets answered. A request framed as an accusation gets ignored, and then you’re negotiating with someone who has already decided not to help.
The seven-item request
| Item | Why it matters | If they refuse |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registrar access or transfer code | Without it you can’t point the name anywhere | Go to the registrar directly with payment proof and business documents |
| Hosting login | Where the site lives; needed to download it | Contact the hosting company; if the plan is in your name, they can help |
| Site admin login (e.g. WordPress) | To edit content | Recoverable through hosting access, without them |
| Full backup — files and database | The site itself, in portable form | Generate it yourself from hosting |
| Your own content — text, photographs, logo files | Yours regardless; slowest thing to recreate | Rebuild from your originals; check your own sent messages |
| Design source files (Figma, PSD, AI) | Lets a new developer match the existing look | Weakest claim unless your contract covers it; usually livable without |
| List of anything registered in their name for you | Google Business Profile, analytics, payment gateway, email | Each platform has its own ownership-recovery process |
The right-hand column is the important one. Three items — hosting login, admin login, backup — collapse into one if you can get to the hosting account, because hosting access gives you the rest.
How to word it
Send this as one message, in writing, and keep it civil:
Hi [name]. I understand you’re not continuing with the project. For my records, could you please send: the domain registrar login or transfer code, the hosting login, the website admin login, a full backup of the site as a zip, and any design files. Also, please confirm whether anything — Google Business Profile, analytics, email, payment gateway — is registered under your account for my business. Happy to settle any pending amount on receipt.
Four deliberate choices in there. It states no grievance. It lists items specifically, so “I sent you everything” isn’t available. It asks about registrations you may not know exist — often the most valuable line. And the last sentence gives them a reason to reply, which matters more than being right.
If there’s a genuine unpaid balance, say what you’ll pay and pay it. A few thousand rupees to end a hostage situation is usually the cheapest option on the table.
What is realistically yours
Being honest about the gradient, because “everything” isn’t accurate:
Clearly yours: your domain if registered in your name, your content and photographs, your business’s data — enquiries, orders, customer records. A copy of the live site you paid for.
Usually yours in practice: the hosting account if the plan was bought in your name, and admin access to the site itself.
Contested without a contract: design source files, custom code, and template licences the developer purchased. Many small projects have no written contract, which is precisely why these become arguments. If you have anything in writing, read it now.
Not yours: their internal tools, and template or plugin licences bought under their own account for use across clients.
Knowing which is which stops you from spending three weeks fighting over a Figma file you don’t need.
The three you can get without them
Worth stating plainly, because it’s what unblocks most people:
- Domain — if it’s in your name, log in to the registrar and reset the password via your own email. If it isn’t, the registrar has an ownership-claim process; GST registration, invoices and payment records are the evidence they’ll want.
- Hosting — call or email the hosting company as the account owner. Where the plan sits inside a reseller account belonging to the developer, ask the host what recovery requires.
- A backup — once you have hosting, the control panel will generate one. Download it and keep your own copy.
If nothing works
Two remaining routes, in order of cost.
A legal notice listing the specific items and a deadline often produces access, because handing over a login is far cheaper for them than responding to a claim. It’s a modest one-time cost.
Or you rebuild on a clean base — new hosting, and either your domain or a variant — reusing your content. This is unsatisfying and sometimes the fastest path to actually having a website. If the abandoned build was thin, you lose very little, and you get to set up the ownership properly this time.
What to do this week
- Send the seven-item request in one written message.
- Run a WHOIS check to see whose name the domain is in.
- Contact the hosting company directly as the account owner.
- Gather your own content files into one folder while you wait.
- Decide a date by which you stop asking and start rebuilding.
If you want it done the certain way
Tell us what access you have and we’ll tell you what’s recoverable without the old developer, and what a clean rebuild would cost using your existing content. Either way the domain, hosting and logins end up in your name, with the handover written down. WhatsApp us; we reply in about five minutes between 9am and 7pm.
Related reading
- The website handover checklist
- You don’t have a single password to your own website
- What to search when a developer abandons you
- The friction of moving to a new developer
FAQ
What files should a web developer hand over?
Domain control, hosting login, site admin login, a full backup of files and database, your own content and images, and a list of anything registered under their account for your business. Design source files depend on what your contract says.
Can I force a developer to give me website access?
Often you don’t need to. If the domain is in your name you can control it yourself, and hosting companies have owner-recovery processes. Where those fail, a legal notice listing specific items commonly produces access because complying is cheaper than responding.
Do I own the design files for my website?
Without a written contract this is genuinely contested. You clearly own your content and the live site you paid for; source design files and custom code depend on the agreement. A new developer can usually work from the live site without them.
