What Should an Agency Hand Over When a Client Takes Control of Their Domain and Web Hosting?

An agency should hand over the domain registration details, DNS configuration, hosting access, website files and database, backups, email settings, renewal information and a record of connected services. The client should also know who provides support, what each service costs and which changes still need to be completed.

The handover document should cover five areas:

• Domain: registrar, registrant details, administrative contact, expiry date, renewal settings and any transfer requirements.
• DNS: current nameservers and a full record of the DNS zone, including website, email and verification records.
• Hosting and website: hosting account access, platform details, website files, database, SSL certificate arrangements, backup locations and restore instructions.

• Email and connected services: email provider, mailbox administration, MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, plus services such as forms, payment systems and analytics.
• Commercial and support details: billing owner, renewal dates, licences, support contacts and the person responsible for each account.

Give the client its own administrator account wherever the service allows it. Shared passwords make it difficult to see who changed a setting and harder to revoke access safely. Transfer access through the service’s account invitation or ownership process where one exists, then rotate credentials and review multi-factor authentication.

A backup deserves a practical check. Confirm that it contains the website files and database, can be accessed by the client or incoming provider, and can be restored. A file labelled “backup” is little help if it is incomplete, remains inside an account the agency is about to close, or cannot be restored within the time the business needs.

First, check who .IE lists as the domain holder and administrative contact, then identify the accredited registrar managing the registration. If the client is already the holder, the agency can arrange appropriate account access or a registrar transfer; a change of holder requires a separate process.

For a .ie domain, the administrative contact must be a named person from the organisation that holds the domain, rather than an external web developer. This matters because the contact can give instructions affecting the registration. If the details are wrong, work with the registrar to correct them before the handover is treated as complete.

Moving a .ie domain to a different registrar requires an authorisation code, often called an Authcode. The client can request it from the current registrar or from .IE. .IE sends it to the email addresses held for the registrant and administrative contacts, so those addresses must be accessible. A registrar transfer also involves a domain renewal payment.

Do not confuse a registrar transfer with a hosting move. The domain can stay with its current registrar while the website moves to another host. Likewise, giving the client a hosting login does not establish that the client controls the domain.

Changing hosting can affect the website and email if DNS records, application settings or mail services are overlooked, but the services do not necessarily have to move together. Record the existing setup, check the dependencies a hosting move can overlook, prepare the destination and test it before changing the records that direct visitors or messages.

DNS tells other systems where to find services associated with the domain. A website may depend on an A or CNAME record, while email delivery depends on MX records. SPF, DKIM and DMARC support email authentication. Copying only the website records into a new DNS zone can leave the site working while business email fails. DNS providers therefore recommend reviewing and adding missing records before changing nameservers.

Agree a change window and work through it in order:

• Export and review the current DNS zone.
• Prepare the new hosting account and restore a copy of the website.
• Lower DNS TTL (e.g., to 300 seconds) 24–48 hours prior
• Check the site, SSL, forms and any transactions on the destination.
• Confirm whether email is staying with its existing provider or moving separately.
• Make the agreed DNS change and check the live website and mail flow.
• Keep the previous service available until the new setup has been verified.

DNS records can remain cached for their configured time to live, or TTL. Plan for a period in which users may reach different answers, and keep a record of the previous values so the team can investigate or reverse a problem.

The client and agency should follow their contract and clarify which personal data the agency holds, where it is stored and what should happen to it after handover. Where an agency acts as a processor for the client, GDPR requires the processing contract to address the return or deletion of personal data at the end of the service, on the controller’s instruction.

That can include website databases, form submissions and copies held in backups or development environments. Document any agreed retention, including legal obligations that affect it. The client should receive the data needed to continue operating before the agency closes access or removes its copies.