I paid someone to build my website and now I can't get hold of them. What do I do?

It happens more often than most people realise. A web developer or agency builds your site, you pay the invoice, and then months or years later you need something changed and you cannot get a response. Or they have closed down, moved on, or simply stopped replying. You are left with a website you cannot update, and no clear sense of what you even own.

This situation feels more precarious than it often is. Here is how to work out where you stand and what your options are.

Start by finding out who owns the domain name

Your domain name is your address on the internet, for example yourbusiness.com. The most important first question is whether you own it or whether the developer registered it in their name on your behalf.

Go to who.is and type in your domain. Look for the registrant name and the registrar, which is the company where the domain is registered. If the domain is registered in your name with your email address, you are in a good position. If it is in the developer's name, you will need to either contact them to transfer it, or, if they are completely unreachable, contact the registrar directly and explain the situation. Registrars have processes for disputed ownership.

Find out where your website is hosted

Hosting is the service that keeps your website files live on the internet. If the developer set this up on an account in their name, your site could disappear if they stop paying the hosting bill, or if they close their business.

Check your email history for any hosting-related sign-up confirmations. Common hosting providers include GoDaddy, SiteGround, Bluehost, and WP Engine. If you find one, try logging in with your email address and the reset password option. If the account is in the developer's name and you cannot access it, this is worth raising with the hosting provider directly.

Check whether you have access to the website files

If your website runs on a platform like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify, there will be an admin login. Try your email address and a password reset if needed. If you can get into the admin panel, you have a great deal of control back immediately, even without the developer.

If the site was built from scratch by a developer, the files may live on a hosting server or in a code repository. This is harder to recover without the developer's involvement, but not impossible once you have hosting access.

What to do while you sort it out

While you are working through access, keep a record of everything: what you paid, any contracts or emails, and the dates you tried to make contact. This is useful if the situation escalates and you need to make a formal complaint or pursue a dispute with a payment provider.

In the meantime, your website is still live and still working for you, even if you cannot edit it. Do not do anything that could take it offline while you sort out the access situation.

Moving forward once you have control back

Once you have recovered access to your domain and hosting, the priority is to make sure both are now in your name, paid from your own card, and tied to an email address only you control. This is the single most important lesson from this kind of situation. Your website is a business asset. You should own it the same way you own your business bank account.

If you want to understand what the site looks like from the outside, a free audit can tell you how it is performing and what, if anything, needs attention now that you are back in control.