So you’ve become frustrated with your existing website designer and you need to break free? This process will break down some steps you need to take to make sure you get everything you need before they disappear from the planet.
You Need ALL the Login Information
That’s right, the number one thing you need to gather from there is every account the web designer created for you and the usernames and passwords to go with them. If they created this in your company name and refuse to hand over the information, you should explore having the company remove the account profile due to fraud or impersonation. Not only that, if they cause damage to your company website or accounts you may have a legal case. Moral web designers however, will need the login info to access your existing website, which may include your hosting account or FTP, your social media accounts and in special occasions your domain registrar or shopping cart if adding products. I have spent hours on end helping clients retrieve this data with companies like GoDaddy, WordPress, etc. Using your existing website build in most cases will save you money.
Straighten Out The Pay
Make sure you have confirmation from your web designer that shows everything has been paid in full. Sometimes this can come back to haunt you and some web designers feel the need to use their power for mischievous purposes.
If It Ends Bad, Change The Login Information
If you already have the login information for all your accounts, make sure you change the login credentials, especially if the relationship ended in a bad way. If you don’t know how, contact a web designer immediately. At least this way you will be confident that no one is adding malicious code to your website, deleting pages or even worse, taking down your hosting account.
Find Out Who Your Domain Registrar Is
More and more web designers are using independent registrars leased under their company name to authorize and purchase a domain for their client. This situation is scary for two reasons, one is that they control the maintenence aspects of your domain whether you change your password or not and two and if it ends bad they can claim that you didn’t pay, which allows them to repo your domain name. Another unsavory aspect of corrupt designers. Before you get into a contract or work with a designer, make sure your domain is registered with a company like GoDaddy or 1&1.
Locked Out
By far the worst case scenario, the most time consuming and money wasting disaster possible. Your website designer has left you with a one page website you are not able to manage or have anyone else manage because the web designer has disappeared and changed all forms of contact. In this case, the website has to be rebuilt and you lost the money you spent already, unless you find a way around it by finding out where the hosting and domain is registered.
Explain to the Website Designer What Went Wrong
Most will have an alibi, but you need to tell them what happened to cause the disappointment. We as people and designers require explainations to grow and with your added input on how to make service more quality efficient and friendly want to hear your side of the story.
We at Kinetic Web Creations ensure that you will never be locked out, even if you wish to use another website designer. We automatically give you the account/login information we create during the process and the information you provided in an easy, convienent form for your reference. We also give you tips on how to keep that data in a secure place so it can’t be accessed by hackers.
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