TL;DR
- Get your access first. Your hosting account, your domains, and an administrator login to WordPress.
- Ask your current provider for that access. Expect them to figure out you’re bringing in someone new.
- Invite your new webmaster. Give them their own login instead of sharing yours.
- Expect a review before fixes. A new webmaster has to learn a site someone else built.
Steps to Switch Webmasters Without Losing Your Website
- Get into your hosting account. Hosting is where your website’s files live. If your current webmaster controls it, ask for access.
- List your domains. Check which domains are in that account.
- Give your new webmaster an Administrator login to WordPress. Administrator is the highest access level in WordPress, the one that can change everything on the site.
- Collect your other accounts. Analytics, premium plugin licenses, and the recovery email on your domain. Make sure someone at your business can still open that recovery email.
When you ask your current provider for access, they’ll likely realize you’re bringing in another professional. That’s normal. Ask anyway, and get the access before you part ways.
What Happens When Webmaster For Hire Takes Over
We look around before we change anything:
- A malware scan to check for hidden malicious code.
- A software check of your PHP version (the programming language WordPress runs on) and your theme.
- A security review for gaps that need closing.
We often find themes their developers stopped updating years ago, custom workarounds, hidden malware, and staff nobody trained to edit the site. If a theme is abandoned, updating PHP can break the site. In that case, a redesign may be the safer path.
We only rebuild when a site genuinely can’t be saved. See Can You Review My Website and Tell Me What Needs Fixing?
Why Fixing an Inherited Site Takes Longer
A new webmaster has to learn how your site was built before fixing it. Custom code has to be reverse-engineered (taken apart to see how it works), and that takes time. We also need to learn how your business uses the site. See Why Avoid Custom-Coded Features on a WordPress Site?
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Keep every account in your business’s name. See Who Owns My Website, Files, and Plugin Licenses?
- Invite, don’t share. Give each webmaster their own login, so you can remove it later without changing yours.
- Buy new premium plugins in your own name as you replace old ones.
:: Common Questions ::
Do I Have to Move My Hosting When I Switch?
No. You can keep your current host. Some hosting plans limit what an outside webmaster can do, and we’ll tell you if yours does.
How Do I Choose a Webmaster After a Bad Experience?
Look for someone who keeps every account in your business’s name and works from their own login. Then, if it goes wrong again, you can remove them without losing anything.
What Happens When a Client Leaves Webmaster For Hire?
We’ve handed tracking accounts and license keys to the next developer, with approval from the client’s contact on file.
Ready to Switch to Webmaster For Hire?
Request a consultation, or see our WordPress Support Services.
