Redesigning a website you didn't build: getting access first

If you are redesigning a website someone else built, sort out access before you talk about design. A website is really five separate accounts: the domain, the hosting, the site editor, the email, and your Google listing. Each may sit with a different person or company, and a redesign gets stuck at launch if one of them is missing. The good news is that you need fewer logins than you think, and most can be recovered through ordinary support channels if you can prove the business is yours.

Who usually built the site you inherited

Owners in this spot tend to fall into a few groups, and each one has a typical gap:

You bought the business. The seller may have handed over the keys to the shop but not to the website. The domain is often still in their personal name.
A family member or friend built it years ago. They used their own email for the accounts and may not remember the passwords.
A former employee ran it. The office manager who "did the computer stuff" left, and their work email was closed.
An agency or freelancer built it. They held everything, and now they are unreachable, retired or charging to release it. If that is you, when your web designer disappears covers that situation in detail.

Knowing which group you are in tells you who to ask first.

The five accounts, and which ones a redesign really needs

1. The domain registrar. This is the company where your web address is registered, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Network Solutions or Squarespace. It is the one account you truly cannot do without, because the domain is how customers reach you. Whoever controls it decides where the address points.

2. The hosting or builder account. This is where the current site lives. For a redesign, it is useful but often not essential. If the new site will live somewhere else, you only need the old host to copy content or cancel the plan. The new site can be built from what anyone can see on your public pages.

3. The site editor. The WordPress dashboard or builder login used to change pages. Nice to have for exporting content; not required if you are replacing the site.

4. Email. If your email address ends in your domain, find out who provides it: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, the host, or the registrar. You need to know where it lives so the redesign does not break it, even if you never log in.

5. Google Business Profile. Your listing on Google Maps. Not part of the website, but a redesign is the time to make sure you own it. Getting your Google Business Profile back from an old agency explains how.

Step 1: find out where each account is

You can learn a lot without logging in to anything.

Domain: look up your address at ICANN Lookup. It shows the registrar's name and the expiry date. The owner's name is usually hidden for privacy, but knowing the registrar tells you who to contact.
Hosting: the same lookup shows the nameservers, which often name the host or builder. Lines like ns1.wixdns.net or ns01.domaincontrol.com point to Wix and GoDaddy. How to find who hosts your website explains how to read them.
Email: search your old inbox for words like "Workspace", "Microsoft 365", "mailbox" or "your email is ready". The provider's welcome email is often still there.
Old receipts: search your bank or card statements for yearly charges with names like GoDaddy, Wix, Bluehost or Network Solutions. A charge on your card is strong evidence the account is yours.

Write the results on one sheet: account, company, likely login email, who might know the password.

Step 2: try the easy recoveries first

Most lost logins are recovered in an afternoon:

Ask the person who set it up. A friendly message to the former owner, relative or employee often gets an answer the same day. Ask them to add you as an account owner, not just to send the password.
Use "Forgot password". Try every email address the business has ever used, including old personal ones.
Check your password manager or browser. Saved passwords in Chrome, Safari or Edge are worth a look under Settings.
Call the company's support. Registrars and hosts handle lost-access cases every day. Ask for their account recovery process.

Step 3: if the account is in someone else's name

This is the hard case. The company will only hand the account to the person named on it, unless you can show the business, and therefore the domain, belongs to you. Registrars usually ask for some of:

Your business registration or articles of organization.
A photo ID that matches the business owner on those documents.
Proof of payment for the account, such as a card statement.
For a purchased business, the sale agreement listing the website or domain among the assets.

Be patient and keep copies of everything you send. If the account is at risk of expiring during the process, tell support. Lost access to your domain account: recovery steps walks through the registrar side in more detail.

Step 4: protect the accounts once you have them

When you are back in, do these before anything else:

Change the password and put the account email on an address you control for the long term, such as your own business mailbox.
Turn on two-step verification.
Turn on auto-renew for the domain and check the card on file.
Add a second trusted person, such as a partner or your bookkeeper, as a backup contact where the company allows it.
Write the accounts down and keep the list somewhere safe outside the website itself.

Yes, partly. A new site can be designed and built from your public pages while recovery goes on, because everything a customer sees is already visible. What has to wait is the switch: pointing your domain at the new site needs access to the domain's settings. Planning the redesign while you chase logins saves weeks.

This week's to-do list

Run an ICANN Lookup on your address and write down the registrar and expiry date.
Search your inbox and card statements for the companies involved.
Message whoever built the site and ask to be added as owner.
Start the recovery process for the domain first, then hosting, then email.
While you wait, decide what the new site needs to say.

Since a new site can be built from what is publicly on your pages, you can see your site rebuilt first while the logins are still being sorted out, and switch over once the domain is back in your hands.