Website Ownership Transfer: What to Check When Buying a Business

You're acquiring a small business. You've negotiated the price, reviewed the financials, and arranged the sale. One of the assets is their website—and there's a lot of traffic to it, and it generates revenue.

You assume the website comes with the acquisition. You assume you'll own it after closing. You don't ask detailed questions about it because it seems like a minor detail compared to everything else.

Then you close. You ask for the domain login. The seller doesn't have it. The freelancer who built the site has it, and they've moved on. The hosting account is in the seller's personal name, and they're not answering calls about it anymore. The code is in a private GitHub account owned by a contractor who hasn't worked with them in three years.

Now you own a business but not the website that generates revenue. You can't change it, update it, or move it. You're dependent on people who've moved on and have no incentive to help.

This is completely avoidable with one simple step during due diligence: Verify website ownership and access.

What needs to transfer

During acquisition due diligence, you need to confirm ownership of three things:

The domain name: Who registered it? Is it registered in the business's name, the owner's personal name, or a contractor's name? Is that person available to transfer it?

The hosting account: Where is the website hosted? Who created the hosting account? Do they have access to the control panel?

The code or content: If it's custom-built code, where is it stored? If it's WordPress or a website builder, is the admin account accessible?

If any of these three are in someone's personal name or account that you won't have access to, you have a problem.

How to verify ownership before closing

Ask directly in the purchase agreement: "The domain, hosting account, and all website code are owned by the seller and will transfer to the buyer upon closing." This goes in the contract. It's explicit.

Get written confirmation of current ownership: Ask the seller to provide documentation:

• The domain registrar account statement showing them as the owner
• The hosting account control panel access showing them as the admin
• For custom code, the GitHub/GitLab account or repository that they control

If they can't provide this, that's a red flag.

Test the transfers before closing: Don't wait until after the sale to test access. During due diligence:

• Log into the domain registrar together and verify you can see the account
• Log into the hosting control panel together and verify it's accessible
• Log into the code repository and verify you can access it

You want to confirm that access exists before money changes hands.

Get promises in writing in the deal documents: The purchase agreement should include:

• "Seller warrants that seller owns the domain registration and will transfer it to buyer within 5 days of closing"
• "Seller warrants that seller has unrestricted access to the hosting account and will provide login credentials to buyer"
• "Seller warrants that seller controls the code repository and will transfer ownership to buyer within 5 days of closing"

With these in writing, you have recourse if something doesn't transfer properly.

Red flags during due diligence

The seller says they "don't have" the domain login: That's concerning. The domain registrar should have recovery mechanisms to regain access. If the seller can't access it, who can? If nobody can, you have a problem.

The domain, hosting, or code is in a contractor's name: The contractor might be unwilling to transfer it, especially if they have a dispute with the seller or think they might lose business. Get written commitment from the contractor that they'll transfer on closing.

The seller has never logged into their hosting account: If they've never accessed it themselves, they might not actually own it. Hosting companies sometimes assign accounts to people other than the nominal customer.

The website builder account (Wix, Squarespace, etc.) is in personal email: This is concerning. If it's tied to a personal email that will change after the business sale, you lose access. Get the email and password transferred to a business email you'll control.

The code is on the contractor's personal GitHub account: Even if you can access it, if the contractor leaves, they could delete the repository. You need it on your own GitHub account controlled by your company.

The transfer process

During the 30 days after closing, do this:

Domain transfer:

1. Ask the seller to log into their domain registrar account
2. Have them go to the domain settings and generate an authorization code
3. You go to your domain registrar of choice (or keep the same registrar, your choice)
4. Initiate a domain transfer and enter the authorization code
5. Confirm the transfer through the email address associated with the domain
6. Verify that you now see the domain in your own registrar account

This should take about a week. If the seller is unresponsive or can't generate the auth code, contact the registrar directly with proof of business ownership.

Hosting account transfer:

1. If it's at a major hosting company (Bluehost, SiteGround, Namecheap, etc.), ask the seller to change the account owner information to you
2. You should be able to log in with the new credentials
3. Verify that the account is now in your name

If it's on a VPS or cloud provider (DigitalOcean, AWS, etc.), you might want to move it to your own account. Ask your IT person or a developer to help.

Code repository transfer:

1. If it's on GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket, ask whoever controls the account to transfer ownership to your company account
2. If it's self-hosted code on their server, you'll need to move it to your own server or your own version control system
3. Verify you can access all the code and pull requests/history

Database and backup access:

1. Get copies of all databases
2. Get backups of the entire website files
3. Store these securely—you might need them for disaster recovery or forensics later

What to do if the seller has disappeared

If the seller is being uncooperative or has disappeared:

For the domain: Contact the registrar directly. Provide proof of business ownership (business license, tax return, bill of sale). Most registrars have a process to recover an account if the current owner is unavailable.

For hosting: Contact the hosting company. Explain the situation. If you have proof you now own the business, they might transfer ownership to you.

For code: If you have backups, you can rebuild the site. If not, you might be out of luck unless you hire a lawyer to compel the contractor to transfer it.

For money: If these assets don't transfer and were material to your acquisition decision, you have a legal claim against the seller. You overpaid for a business where you can't access the website that generates revenue.

Implications if ownership doesn't transfer

If you can't get ownership of the website and the website generates significant revenue:

1. You lose that revenue stream: You own a business but can't control or update the website that makes money.
2. You can't make improvements: Bugs, outdated features, performance issues—you can't fix them because you don't control the site.
3. You're dependent on the previous owner or contractor: If they decide to hold the site hostage or delete it, you have limited recourse.
4. You might be liable for hosting/domain costs: Bills keep coming due and you have to pay them even though you can't access the account.
5. You can rebuild, but it's expensive: Your option is to rebuild the website from scratch, which is expensive and time-consuming.

This is why it's worth verifying during due diligence.

For the seller's protection too

If you're the seller, document website ownership because:

1. It proves what you're selling is actually yours
2. It makes the transition smoother for the buyer (and for you, because they'll be satisfied)
3. It protects you from disputes after closing

Before you sell, get everything in order: transfer domains to your name if they're not already, confirm you have access to hosting and code, and document that you own all the digital assets you claim to be selling.

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FAQ

What if the website is on a free hosting plan? Can we move it? Yes, but there might be complications. Free hosting might not allow transfers, or might require contacting support. Check the terms before signing the acquisition. Budget for rebuilding if necessary.

Can we put the hosting in escrow until we confirm it transfers? Sure. You could have the seller keep paying for hosting while you verify access, and only complete the transfer once you've confirmed everything works. Most purchase agreements let you close in phases like this.

What if the original developer is unwilling to transfer the code? That's a legal issue. If the developer was contracted to do work for the business, the business owns the code (usually). You can escalate to the developer's company, involve a lawyer, or plan to rebuild. This is why you verify during due diligence—so you're not surprised after closing.

Should we get a warranty that the website was built legally? Yes. Get the seller to warrant that the website wasn't stolen, wasn't built with copyrighted code they didn't have rights to, and doesn't have outstanding liability. If the website infringes on someone's copyright, that liability falls to you as the new owner.

Do we need to update privacy policies and legal pages after taking over a website? Probably. The privacy policy might reference the old owner, the terms might be outdated, and the legal statements might be specific to the old business. Have a lawyer review and update them.

What if the website is generated traffic through paid ads that we didn't realize? Good question. During due diligence, ask for analytics and traffic data. Understand where traffic comes from. If it's mostly from paid ads, you now own the cost of those ads. If traffic comes from organic search and links, you own that asset.

Can we verify this for websites I'm buying from competitors I'm acquiring? Absolutely, and you should. Competitor websites are often valuable assets. Verify ownership as part of the acquisition process.

How much should website ownership affect the acquisition price? If the website is a revenue generator, it's a significant asset. If you can't access it or transfer it, you should negotiate the price down accordingly. Make website ownership transfer a condition of closing.

What if we're buying the business but the seller is keeping the website? That's possible, but it's a problem if the website is the main customer funnel for that business. You'd be buying a business without the assets that generate revenue. Structure the acquisition so you get the website or significantly reduce the price.

Should we get cyber liability insurance for the takeover? Potentially. New ownership can expose unknown vulnerabilities or liabilities. Ask your insurance agent about coverage for website ownership transfer and data liability.