A stalled project is easier to handle when the domain, hosting, email, billing, files, and access are documented.

1. Save contracts, invoices, and messages. 2. Check domain and host ownership. 3. Change access only through accounts the business controls. 4. Copy available files and backups.

Do not destroy the old site or start a public fight before preserving the evidence and access.

The domain is your web address. ICANN says you must renew a domain before it expires to keep using it and the services tied to it, like a website or email. So start here.

• Look up the domain at lookup.icann.org. ICANN says the “Registrar” field shows which company holds the registration.
• Find out when it expires. ICANN policy requires registrars to send renewal reminders about one month and one week before expiration. If those go to the developer’s inbox, nobody at the business sees them.
• If it already lapsed, call the registrar today. For .com and other generic endings, ICANN says a deleted domain enters a 30-day redemption period when it can still be restored, sometimes for an extra fee. ICANN policy says the restore is done at the request of whoever was the registrant when it expired, so if that was the developer, you will need their help. Country endings such as .us or .co can follow different rules, so ask the registrar.
• If the business is the registrant, meaning the legal holder of the domain, you can move it to an account you control. A move needs an auth code, which a registrar creates to stop unauthorized transfers. If you cannot create one in the registrar’s account, ICANN says the registrar must hand it over within five calendar days of your request. Before you move it to a new registrar, screenshot the domain’s DNS settings, the records that point it at your website and email. Squarespace notes most domain hosts can’t keep those settings in place during a transfer.
• If the developer is listed instead, ask them in writing to change the registrant to the business. ICANN notes that a registrant change can start a 60-day lock on moving to another registrar, though some registrars let you opt out.

• Website platform. On Squarespace, only the current site owner can transfer ownership, so the developer has to start it. Ask for it in writing, with a date. Other platforms have their own steps.
• Google Business Profile. If someone else owns your verified profile, Google lets you request ownership. The current owner gets 3 days to respond. If they do not, you may get the option to claim it, though Google says that option isn’t always available.
• Google Search Console, Google’s report on how your site shows up in search. After you verify ownership yourself, Google says you can unverify previous owners by removing their verification token. A token is the proof they used: a file or a line of code (an HTML tag) on the site, a record at your domain company, or their edit access to your Google Analytics or Tag Manager account. Google says an old owner can verify again while any of their tokens remain, so clear every one.
• Forms, visit tracking, email, and payments. Confirm where form messages land and that the business can log in to each tool. Our list for handing off a vendor helps.

Silence is not the only sign. Watch for these earlier ones:

• Nobody at the business can log in to the domain or hosting.
• Progress shows up only in screenshots, never in a working preview link.
• Dates slip without a new written plan.
• There is no backup, export, or handoff note.

If you see one, send a calm written request for the current status, what is finished, what is blocking the work, and a handoff date. Keep the reply with your records. We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. If money or the contract is in dispute, talk to a lawyer before you cut off anyone’s access.

If you cannot tell what the business controls, bring the account list to a Tech Audit.

The answer depends on registration and proof of control; start with the registrar record.

Only after you know what is live, what is recoverable, and what the customer path needs.

Want it handled? Custom Local Websites — Need a clearer public path? We can map the page around the action customers need to take.

Product features and rules can change. Use the linked source as the current word.

• ICANN: FAQs for Registrants, Transferring Your Domain Name — Finding your registrar, auth codes, the five-day rule, and the 60-day change-of-registrant lock. Matches the current Transfer Policy (updated 21 February 2024). Checked October 19, 2026.
• ICANN: FAQs for Registrants, Domain Name Renewals and Expiration — Renewal reminders, what stops when a domain lapses, and the 30-day redemption period. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help: Request ownership of a Business Profile — How to request a verified profile from its current owner and what happens next. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Search Console Help: Managing owners, users, and permissions — Verified owners, tokens, and removing a previous owner. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Squarespace Help: Change the site owner — Only the current owner can transfer a Squarespace site. Checked October 19, 2026.
• ICANN: Expired Registration Recovery Policy — Renewal reminders and restoring an expired domain. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Squarespace Help: Transferring a domain away from Squarespace — What to save before a domain transfer. Checked October 19, 2026.