The contract with the old agency ends in four weeks. The new provider asks for DNS access, CMS administrator rights, a hosting backup and Search Console. Nobody in the company knows which account the domain was registered with. The problem is not unusual: “the website” sounds like a single object but consists of several services, contracts and logins. A switch succeeds when these parts are handed over individually.
Before switching agencies: what belongs to whom?
Start with an inventory. For the domain: who is registered as the holder, which provider manages it, who can change DNS records and pay for renewal? For operation: where are hosting, source code or CMS, database, media, email and backups? For measurement and advertising: who is the owner or administrator of each account, and under which company addresses do they run?
Technical access does not automatically answer the legal question. An agency can manage an account on your behalf; contractual rights and licences may be attached to files, design, texts or software. So read the agreements on handover, rights of use, terms and third-party services. If there is a dispute about rights, it is a contractual matter that cannot be solved with an admin list alone. The practical task comes first: which systems have to keep running without interruption, and who may legitimately manage them?
… the company can manage the domain and DNS itself, owns a restorable copy of the website, has all measurement accounts under its own control and the new provider receives only the roles it needs.
The .de domain: distinguishing holder and provider
For .de domains, DENIC (the German registry) describes the provider change via an AuthInfocode. The domain holder asks the previous provider to generate this password and passes it on to the new provider for the transfer. This procedure changes the managing provider; it is not the same as changing the domain holder. DENIC describes a change of holder separately. So first get confirmation of who actually holds the domain. A password from an agency login does not answer that question.
Plan DNS and email separately from web hosting. When the domain is moved, nameservers or records may change; a missing mail record can hit business email even though the website still loads. Back up the current DNS configuration and agree on who checks the new setup. Switching agencies does not always require switching providers. If the company already controls the domain and DNS, management can simply be reassigned to the new agency.
Handing over Search Console and search data safely
Search Console has verified and delegated owners as well as users with fewer rights. Google explains that owners can add and remove other people. So check the list of users and the type of ownership verification. The company should have its own verified owner access before the old agency is removed. Otherwise, access can be lost for everyone involved.
An old verification token is particularly tricky: an HTML file, a meta tag or a DNS record. Google points out that a removed owner can regain access if their valid token remains in place. The new administrator should remove only the old agency’s tokens and leave their own verification intact. Export the reports you need and document the properties. Analytics, Tag Manager and ad accounts have their own roles and procedures; include them as separate items in the handover instead of treating Search Console as a stand-in for all data.
A switch plan without a day of downtime
Ask the previous agency for a list of the services used, responsible accounts, licences, ongoing invoices and recurring tasks. Check the information with the new provider. Then set up company-owned administrator accounts, back up the website and configuration, transfer the necessary content and schedule a date for technical changes. Keep a fallback ready in case pages, forms or email do not work after the switch.
Only revoke old rights once the new management actually works. Then check the website, DNS, mail, forms, tracking and the most important search pages. Record which agency logins were removed and who approves changes in future. This way the cooperation ends cleanly, without a forgotten permission or an expired agency subscription becoming a problem months later.
The decisive question before the next contract is simple: can the company keep running its domain, website and search data without this provider? If yes, the cooperation is a free choice. If no, the list of responsibilities belongs at the start of the contract, not only at its end.
