My Web Developer Disappeared: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

Your developer was answering, then slower, then not at all. Maybe the site is half built. Maybe it's live but broken, and you can't log in to fix it. It feels like your business is being held hostage, and it's hard to know where to start.

Here's the order we'd go in. None of it needs technical skill, and most of it you can do today. (This is practical advice, not legal advice. If there's a contract dispute or a lot of money involved, talk to a lawyer too.)

Hours 0–2: Stop, and take stock

Don't change anything on the site yet. No new plugins, no new hosting, no rebuild. Changes now can break what's left or make it harder to recover.

Then gather what you have into one folder or document:

• The contract, quote or proposal, and every invoice and receipt you paid
• Emails and chats with the developer, especially any that mention logins, the domain or hosting
• Any logins you were given, even old ones
• Emails from a domain registrar or hosting company (search your inbox for "domain", "renewal", "hosting" and your web address)
• Bank or card statements that show who you've been paying for hosting or the domain

Hours 2–6: Find out who holds the keys

A website has three parts, and you need to know who controls each one.

1. The domain (your web address)

Look it up at lookup.icann.org. You'll see the registrar (the company it's registered with) and the expiry date. The owner's name is often hidden for privacy, but the registrar tells you where to ask. Write down the expiry date: if it's close, that's your most urgent problem, because an expired domain can be lost. Our guide on getting your domain back from a web designer covers this part in detail.

2. The hosting (where the site lives)

If you've been paying a hosting company yourself, you can usually reset the password with your email. If the developer hosts it on their own account, note that down. That's the part you'll need to ask for.

3. The site builder or code

On Wix, Squarespace or Shopify, the site sits inside someone's account. All three let the current owner transfer a site or store to another account, so the question is simply whose account it's in. On WordPress or custom code, you need the admin login plus a copy of the files and database.

Hours 6–12: Save a copy of everything

• Save your public pages to the Internet Archive with Save Page Now, one page at a time. It's free, and it means your text and layout are recorded even if the site goes down.
• Download your own photos, logos and text, if you still have them anywhere.
• If you can log in to anything, export what it offers: a WordPress export, your product list, your customer list, your form entries.
• Take screenshots of every page, on a phone and on a computer.

Hours 12–24: Lock down what you control

For every account you can already get into (registrar, hosting, site builder, email, Google Business Profile, analytics):

• Change the password and turn on two-step sign-in.
• Make sure the account email is one you own, not the developer's. That email is how the account gets recovered.
• Remove or downgrade logins you don't recognise. Keep the developer's access only if you still need them to hand things over.
• Turn on auto-renew for the domain, so it can't quietly expire.

Hours 24–36: Send one calm, written request

Write, don't call, so there's a record. Keep it short, friendly and specific, and give a date. You want the handover, not an argument. Save a copy.

A developer who goes quiet is often overwhelmed rather than out to hurt you, and a clear list makes it easy for them to hand things over. If you don't hear back by the date, follow up once, then go to each company (registrar, host, site builder) directly. They have their own processes for owners who've lost access, and your invoices and business paperwork help.

Hours 36–48: Get a second opinion

Once you know who holds what, get another developer to look at what's actually there. You want to know three things: what works, what's broken or missing, and whether it's quicker to finish what's there or rebuild parts of it. Ask for a fixed price, in writing, before any work starts.

That's exactly what our website rescue starts with: a free rescue check, then a fixed price to recover access, fix or finish the site, and put the domain, hosting and every login in your name.

The 48-hour checklist

Everything above on one page. Tick it off as you go, or print it for the desk.

What not to do

• Don't pay more money without a written handover. Paying to "unlock" a site with nothing in writing rarely ends well.
• Don't post about it publicly. It can make the handover harder, and it can come back to you.
• Don't delete the old site or cancel hosting until you have a full copy and the new site is live.
• Don't let the domain expire while you wait. It's the hardest part to get back.