How to switch web agencies without losing anything
A step-by-step plan for moving your website from one agency or developer to another, keeping your domain, data, search rankings and peace of mind.
Switching agencies feels risky because your previous agency may hold things you can't see: logins, files, the domain, the know-how about how the site is put together. With a little planning, the switch can be calm and complete. This guide shows you the order to do it in.
Before you tell anyone
Do these quietly first. They protect you if the relationship turns awkward.
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- Find out where your domain is registered and whose name it's in. Use Where is my domain registered? and Who owns the domain?. If it's in the agency's account, getting it moved to yours is the top priority.
- Check you can log in to the essentials yourself. Domain registrar, hosting, website admin, Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Business Profile, email provider. If you can't, see I can't log in to my site and What to do if you lose access to your admin account.
- Take your own backup. Ask your host for a downloadable backup, or export what you can: website content, form submissions, customer and order data from your store.
- Read your contract. Look at the notice period, what they must hand over, who owns the design and code, and any outstanding fees.
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Make an inventory
List every account and asset the site depends on. Our Asset inventory tracker is built for this. Common items:
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- Domain and DNS: registrar account, DNS provider (often Cloudflare or the host).
- Hosting: the hosting account and who pays the bill. See Who pays for hosting?
- Website: admin logins, the code repository if there is one, any staging site.
- Licenses: premium themes, plugins and apps, and whose name they're in. See Plugin and theme license access.
- Data and tracking: Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console, ad accounts, pixels.
- Email and marketing: email hosting, newsletter platform, CRM, form tools.
- Brand files: logos, fonts, design files (for example Figma), photography and its licenses.
- Documentation: anything describing how the site is built, custom code and integrations.
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Ask for the handover in writing
Send your current agency a clear, polite request. Include:
- The list of accounts and files you need, with ownership transferred to you, not just shared.
- A reasonable deadline.
- A request for any documentation on custom code, integrations and known issues.
- Confirmation of any final invoices.
Most agencies handle this professionally. Keep it factual, settle what you genuinely owe and get answers in writing. Transferring accounts and ownership to you explains what a good handover includes.
Bring in the new agency
Share your inventory and contract terms so they know what exists and what's coming.
Give them access through your own accounts, ideally as separate users rather than shared passwords. The Access checklist for a new project covers the usual list.
Ask for an initial audit. A careful new agency will review the site's health, backups, security and tracking before changing anything.
Decide on hosting. You may keep the current host or move. If you move, plan it properly: Hosting migrations.
Protect your search rankings
If the new agency is going to rebuild or move the site, the biggest risk is lost search traffic. Before anything goes live:
- Export a list of all current URLs and your top pages from Search Console.
- Make sure redirects are planned from every old URL that changes.
- Keep Search Console and Analytics running throughout, so you can compare.
Our guide Don't lose your SEO during a migration has the full checklist.
Close the old agency's access, last
Only after the new agency confirms everything works:
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- Remove the old agency's user accounts from every system.
- Change any passwords that were shared.
- Revoke API keys or app connections they set up, if they're no longer needed.
- Confirm billing for hosting and licenses now comes to you or the new agency.
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Revoking access after a project walks through each step. The process is very similar to offboarding a staff member.
If the old agency won't cooperate
This is rare, but it happens.
- Domain: if the domain is registered in your business's name, the registrar can help you prove ownership. ICANN's transfer policy and registrant information pages explain your rights.
- Hosting and website: if you can't get access, a new agency can often rebuild from a backup, from the live site, or both. Not ideal, but recoverable.
- Google accounts: Google has ownership recovery processes for Analytics, Search Console and Business Profile.
- Get advice if a contract dispute is involved.
Having a disaster recovery plan in place makes all of this much easier next time.
Common mistakes
- Giving notice before you control the domain.
- Cancelling the old hosting before the new site is live and checked.
- Forgetting email. If your email runs through the same host, plan it separately: Email migrations.
- Leaving the old agency's admin accounts active for months.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a switch take?
It depends mostly on how quickly the old agency hands things over and whether the site moves host. A cooperative handover with no move can be quick. A move plus rebuild is a project in its own right.
Should I tell the new agency why I'm leaving?
Yes, briefly. It helps them avoid repeating whatever went wrong.
Related guides
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