I had a new client reach out to me recently because the company who built their website and ‘maintains’ it has seemingly gone MIA. They need help updating the site and overall basic maintenance going forward. I’m happy to take over and help, and I was given access to the backend of the WP site already.
My big concern is they also pay that company for hosting, so I’m not super confident we’ll get access to the server backend with all the databases and backups. If they haven’t responded to my client in the last 4 months, I assume the breakup will make it harder for us to get access to the hosting tools?
Anybody experience this before? Any advice on how to onboard this client and help them breakup with the old developers who also host their site?
Edit: Logging into the site now I can see that it’s hosted on WP Engine. I doubt they ever supplied them login details for the WP Engine portal but I will ask.
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Do you have access to the DNS? I would go ahead and migrate the site to another host via a plugin, and point the DNS, before you break up with the old developers. Then you’ll have access to everything.
Hi there,
I work for an agency, and we have had to deal with uncooperative devs/agencies in the past. I would tell the client to get a lawyer and start threatening the old dev with legal action. They may be able to gain control back by contacting WPE and proving they are the rightful owners or at least convince WPE to add you as a collaborator on the account.
This is between the client and the old dev, not you. Once they have secured their website and it is under their control, you can start actually doing something with it. I would not even get involved before then.
It’s probably not what you wanted to hear; you may want to find out why they are moving away from the old dev. It’s possible the client didn’t pay them, which means they may not pay you.
Assuming the client is innocent in all of this if they are getting billed by WPE, that might be your in, and WPE might be able to use the invoices to prove they own it.
Also, if the domain is not hosted with WPE and the client controls the DNS records, they can use that as further proof that they own the site.
Whatever you do, Proceed with caution.
Great advice from u/ColdIronChef! They’ve said most of the things I’ve said.
If you can get any kind of backup plugin working on the site then you should be able to download all the files and the database as well. WPEngine has a bad habit of banning backup plugins. One possible “back door” I’ve used is to signup with ManageWP for a month, setup your client site, make a single backup, download it, and then cancel your subscription. (You can then use something like LocalWP to import and cleanup the site before moving it to new hosting.)
Another possibility is to sign up with another hosting company that offers free migrations.
If the client really doesn’t have any access to their domain (a giant red flag by the way) there’s an appeal / recapture process they can employ through ICANN. They may need to hire a business lawyer to walk them through the process. (A business lawyer can also be a *very* expedient way to regain the attention of their missing devs.)
Finally, can I just say I hope their original dev is ok. As a site-rescue specialist I’m occasionally asked to help someone recover their online property from an “all in one” developer who’s not just disappeared but *died!* Or been taken down by ransomware.
This is also one of the reasons I’ve historically refused to host my clients. Instead I walk them through the process of registering their domains and setting up hosting. Because *it’s their website!* It would be stupid and irresponsible let your mechanic own the leases on your company vehicles, or to let your office landlord own your company trademark. It’s a similarly bad idea to let your developer own your domain or hosting account.
You can use a migration plugin (All-in-One, WP Migrate, etc.) to export the site, and then import it into a fresh WordPress install on your servers. From there, database, files, etc. are available to you.
I assume they control the domain in addition to hosting – if so, that’s your greatest stumbling block. If that’s the case, use the pressure tactics suggested in the thread, and then, worse case, buy a new domain to use.
About a week ahead of the renewal for hosting, move the site. Easy peasy.
I’m part of an agency and regularly recover sites from neglectful agencies. I think out of the 20 or so agencies I’ve only ever had 1 be a problem and it was more our client’s fault for letting a contract expire by a few months. Some of them are slow or want to know why the client is leaving, but they never have a problem handing over the info.
I feel clients just work themselves up over nothing most of the time. I’ve had clients try to sneakily leave our agency, but I know it’s coming weeks in advance due to log files or them asking for admin accounts etc. Once the day comes I hand them over a backup and wish them well. I want them to have a good experience so they come back or they were a pain in my ass and I’m glad to see them leave.