We cannot get into our own website or domain
The person who built the site has the passwords, has moved on, or will not answer. You pay for a website you cannot change. This is common, and usually recoverable.
A website depends on three separate things: the domain name, the hosting, and the site's own admin login. Whoever is the registered owner of the domain controls everything else. Find out who that is with a free lookup at lookup.icann.org, then ask the registrar or the previous developer, in writing, to transfer it to you. Recover the domain first; a website can be rebuilt, a lost domain often cannot.
What to do, in order
Look up the domain
Go to lookup.icann.org and enter your domain. Note the registrar, the expiry date and, if shown, the registrant. For .na domains, ask the registrar who sold it.
Find your proof
Invoices, emails and bank records showing your organisation paid for the domain and site.
Ask in writing
Email the developer or company asking for the domain to be transferred to an account you own, plus hosting and admin logins.
Contact the registrar
If there is no answer, the registrar has a process for ownership disputes. Your proof matters here.
Watch the expiry date
If the domain is close to expiring, say so to the registrar. A lapsed domain can be bought by someone else.
The three things to recover
| What | Why it matters | Who usually holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Your address and every email on it | Whoever registered it |
| Hosting | Where the site's files live | The developer or a hosting company |
| Admin login | Lets you edit the content | The developer |
| Email accounts | Business communication | The hosting or email provider |
| Analytics and Google profile | Your visitor history and map listing | Whoever set them up |
Help you get control back, then keep it
- Work out who controls the domain, hosting and logins today
- Help you write the transfer requests and collect the proof
- Move the domain and hosting into accounts in your name
- Rebuild or repair the site if the old one cannot be recovered
- Give you a written record of every account, so it cannot happen again
We cannot force a registrar or a former developer to act, and we will not try to break into an account. Recovery depends on proving the domain is yours.
You hold the keys from day one
On our projects the domain is registered in the client's name, and the launch record lists every account, who controls it and when it renews. If you stop working with us, you already have everything.
Common questions
The developer says the website belongs to them. Is that right?
It depends on what was agreed. Without a written agreement it can be unclear, which is why ownership should always be in the contract. We are not lawyers; if money or a dispute is involved, get legal advice. In practice, most cases are settled by a polite written request.
Our domain has already expired. Is it gone?
Not always. Many domains have a grace period after expiry during which the previous owner can still renew, sometimes at a higher fee. Contact the registrar immediately.
Can you just build us a new site on a new domain?
Yes, and sometimes it is the only option. You lose the old address, its email and its search history, so it is the last resort rather than the first.
Tell us the problem. We will tell you what it takes to fix it.
Send a message, call, or use the form. You get a written scope and a price before any work starts, and there is no charge for the first conversation.