This simple step is sometimes complicated by one side thinking work is outstanding or not completed correctly or the website design company requesting admin fees to move the domain, the fees are variable depending on how complicated the website is and if it has multiple CMS systems and Ecommerce systems this involves database exports and supplying ftp and admin details to a 3rd party to facilitate the transfer. There is also an admin function to update the IPS tag or to request an EPP code after unlocking the domain. You will be pleased to know our charges are clearly laid out and after 6 years of trading we have only had 2 out of hundreds of clients decided to move to their own hosting or to move to another website design company. In the same time period (6 years) we have transferred in 345 different websites from other website design companies / hosting companies. Pretty pleased with that 🙂
Here is a conversation that demonstrates why you should be clear about your requirements and know exactly what is owed when you want to move away from your old website design company, we are experts at dealing with awkward website design companies that dont want to release your website so get in touch with us so we can give you some impartial advice about moving to us.
[Website Owner] After thinking about this for a while and looking at the results you have brought to our website over the last 2 years we have reluctantly decided to go with a new Thurrock based web company, based reasonably local to us, for hosting our website, taking over the operation and promotion of the website and our email accounts. Thank you for your services to date but we feel we need more support / response than you have been able to give with your present commitments. Can you please email the new website design company the passwords / codes for our website as soon as possible please. We intend that they operate our site as from the start of the month and we terminate with yourself on the same date. We would appreciate this being carried out as soon as possible please. Again thanks for all your past help and assistance, please sent us the closing invoice for your services.
[Website Designer] Really? I was only looking at a redesign for your website today. I want to create you a new responsive ecommerce system. Please tell me what are they offering? I though you appreciated that I assist you whenever you ask, what do feel you are not getting? I have always asked you to speak to me about anything? I don’t want to lose you as a website client, so let me know what they have offered for you as sure we can match it.
[Website Owner] We fully appreciate your businesses help but think you have limitations that unfortunately dont help with our business needs. We asked you back in December to meet up, your commitments did not allow it, when we ask for assistance it had to be to suit your main occupation and family commitments. Site visits were avoided, we need now a fully committed, available, local website design and seo service in working hours. You want access to us on weekends and out of hours which simply are not compatible with our work hours. We have had meetings with a couple of local companies, seen customers websites, rankings etc, had faults pointed out on our site, all be it an old site but for instance it is not available on some browsers. Our email address on our heading cannot be copied or used to contact us simply by clicking onto it. The page listings and website listings are not Search friendly at all.
We know our final constraints have had an impact but we have been paying monthly for hosting and overall basic updates on our site. We have committed now, thank you for your past help and now feel it is time for us to move on. Please forward our site details as requested. We wish you and your business all the best.
[Website Designer] All those things can be rectified with a new site, it is all sales spill, you don’t need someone on site unless there is issues with your local PCs. I will design you a site, I have been doing this for many years, I know what is possible and what is not, I was waiting for you to get back in contact about your site, I have been thinking and planning it. Tell me exactly what you need?
[Website Owner] Sorry but the decision has been made already, even if you offered to redesign our site for free we need better access and commitment to us and the website’s promotion. We have paid you a monthly fee for 3 years,, now with limited and out of hours access. We paid for updates and modifications, for the first website, which was a big failure. We negotiated a new site deal, including SEO monthly updating, assistance with Facebook, social networks, a blog, videos, hosting etc., email set up including phones, compatibility with Ipads , tablets and mobiles etc. All with access to a local manned office, chargeable site visits if required for training, free online access at all times, all available in working hours. We placed the order today,
[Website Designer] I am a little confused as I have given you round the clock commitment, something you would not get anywhere else, I was assisting you with email issues on her local computer just the other day when you re-installed Outlook on your new company PC. I offered to take over your SEO, YouTube and Facebook posting, I offered to send someone to see you 1 day a month all day. I offered to redesign your site to a responsive layout.
[Website Owner] Cant deny that but quoted us another £300.00 per month on top of your existing SEO, Hosting and Support costs
[Website Designer] The reason I can’t have immediate access on site is because of location and I am trying to expand, and i also have other clients and I am taking on other staff to do work that I cannot fit in as I am concentrating on marketing, I know that I have done everything I can when you have asked and a lot of the problems you have experienced have been local issues and not down to me, but I have still been there to remote in when you need with reasonable notice.
[Website Owner] A lot of the “local issues”, ie duplication and repeating of incoming and outgoing emails, were resolved as soon as you changed our email host. Clearly not local issues
[Website Designer] I won’t leave on a bad note, if you feel that you want to go to another Thurrock based website design company then I hope it works out for you and I wish your business the best for the future as I know I have done all I can. Obviously I’m going to have to pay staff to look at your current setup and change all the domains, sort out admin and cancel your accounts etc.. so there will probably be a small fee of a few hundred pounds maybe even £499 but I don’t know until I look into it in more detail.
[Website Owner] We have paid you for our website support and hosting every year for about 4 years to handle our emails and hosting of the site. Including overseeing the website and minor site maintenance we refuse any additionally / un-warranted costs.
[Website Designer] Again, I hope the new company look after you and it all goes smoothly, I know how difficult it can be in business world when you’re trying to generate your own income constantly, so all the best and I have enjoyed working with you.
[Website Owner] Tried to phone you but you are not picking up the phone. We have tried not to fall out with you and wish you all the best but see our responses red lined on your email below. We pay you monthly for admin of our accounts and hosting, all paid up to and including the end of the month. So where does a few hundred extra costs come from? Staff, what staff, you operate as a one man band web designer, in association with other self-employed IT people. Including your brother to do your SEO work. Transferring of our email hosting is carried out by the new website design, from your end it takes seconds to cancel accounts by email at your leisure.
We own our site, original purchased from website design company that you took over from and then the development was taken over by you upon their demise. Please provide the codes etc to the new Essex Website design company as requested. They remain our property. Please email over our codes to their Website Design Project Manager without delay.
[Website Designer] I don’t work as a one man band and I do not work Monday to Friday exclusively, I have business costs and staff I have to pay and I have also assisted all kind of hours in and outside work hours for you which is beyond the service level contract and I have wished you the best with your new supplier so I am not sure why you need to make comments like you have, and you can choose to believe what you like but this has nothing to do with the basic business principles that you pay me for a service and I supply this.
You have domains name right? did you not order various different domains? if so, these need to be transferred and that is a lot of messing about that i will need to pay someone for, removing emails is simple I just delete them. Various small admin and account work will need to be completed and therefore i have to pay people to do this. I don’t want to go round in circles, you need to let me know how many domains you need transferring over and if you feel it is fair that I do all of the above for free and pay people out of my own pocket? As I said previously, I hope it all goes well with the new web company and I wish you the best..
[Website Owner] You are now sounding desperate and unprofessional, for the last three years you have answered some calls, emailed others and on most occasions have told us you can only do it on Fridays, or after 7 or at weekends. Do you think I imagined it? On our last call about pricing up a site you could not possibly visit site and was not available for three weeks, and you never made contact, or have I imagined that. We have paid you on time, much without invoices, 4 years.
The only domain we are interested in our main one No I see no extra costs involved. We have tried not to be stroppy or underhand, its time we moved on. We have known each other a long time, heard the sob stories from both parties. Please send the codes asap and let’s all move on. You have lost a client, we all do, familiarity breeds contempt perhaps or complacency Whatever you still are not taking calls. I tried to phone, yet again you can only take email? We don’t intend getting involved in this but we do want the codes. If there is a problem phone me
[Website Designer] Ok if thats your desire, you will have to get your new company to give me instructions on how to transfer your domain and I will look at getting this sorted out for you over the next few days. Hope all goes well with your new website hosts. I’ve enjoyed working with you. Are you really sure you want to transfer the domain to this company, it would make more sense to point it at them, that way if it goes wrong with them they have no hold over you as I still have a copy of your site and the domain name. It really doesn’t affect me in anyway, but if they are telling you they cannot do this without me transferring in the name, that is untrue, I can simply point it at their server and they can do all your website and emails still. Let me know, I am just thinking of the hassle you have had with other companies and If I transfer it to them they will have full control even when you want to leave no matter what they say. Either way I will do what you want on Monday unless I hear differently from you.
[Website Owner] Thanks but give the details to the new website design company but email me a copy please. We are retaining all the details ourselves too.
[Website Designer] The current company wants £50 to transfer the domain and that is not me being difficult, I would suggest your new web company to contact them directly to make the transfer so they can pay the fee. (They can call me for authorization)
[New website company] A domain registrar will never deal with a business that they don’t have a business relationship with to ‘transfer a domain’ (regardless of that I have actually tried phoning and online chat with them but both unavailable). It would be similar to myself phoning your phone company and requesting that I have your phone number! so there are two ways to transfer a domain:
1, Your Domain registrar is the initial place to transfer it you update the IPS tag with them – they are charging £35 + VAT
2, Register with Nominet and get them to change the IPS tag (to ENOM) they charge £12
To initiate the transfer (which needs to happen before the emails / website / database is transferred) we need this:
1, access to your website’s admin panel (cpanel) so we can copy the website code and its database
2, your previous website design company to update the websites IPS tag to ENOM
The alternative to point 1 would be for your old website design company to zip up the website files and send us a .sql dump of the database (this is if we can’t be given access to your control panel or you do not have access to it)
With your permission I will request this directly from the old company to save you the bother.
