A website is controlled by several different accounts.
Business owners are often told that one person “handles the website,” but the working site may depend on several vendors. Recovering control is easier when each component is identified separately.
Domain registration
The registrar controls the right to use the domain name. Keeping the domain active is usually the highest priority. Look for renewal emails, receipts, credit-card charges, or account notices containing words such as domain, registrar, renewal, or DNS.
DNS and nameservers
DNS tells internet services where the website and email are located. Changing it without understanding the existing setup can interrupt the website, business email, or both.
Website hosting
The hosting account stores or runs the website. It may be provided by a different company than the registrar, even if both services were originally arranged by the same developer.
Website administration
A content-management login controls pages and content, but it may not provide control over the domain or hosting. Recovering one account does not automatically recover the others.
Business email may depend on the same domain
Do not change or cancel domain and DNS services casually. The company's email records may be connected to them even when the website is hosted somewhere else.
Information that can help
- The domain name and company name
- Names and email addresses used by the owner or former provider
- Old invoices, receipts, and renewal notices
- Credit-card statements showing vendor names
- Existing passwords or password-manager entries
- Copies of website files, photographs, and text
- Any correspondence with the former designer or hosting company
Legend Digital cannot guarantee that every third-party account can be recovered, but we can help organize what is known, identify reasonable recovery paths, and explain when rebuilding may be the more practical option.