What Logins and Passwords You Need for Your Website Launch
Do you have access to everything we’ll need to launch your new website? Often our clients don’t…and find they don’t have control of their own site or domain.
Here’s a checklist of the things you should already have or will need to get from your prior developer so that doesn’t happen to you.
1. Your Domain Registrar Login
When you register a domain you register a web address. An address that you own, that nobody else gets control over.
“Mcculloughwebservices.com” is our domain. Every page on our site “lives” here. But the domain is not the website, just like your street is not your house.
For an in-depth, technical explanation, see: What is a Domain and How Does It Work, from BlueHost.
2. Web Hosting Login
Sometimes your web host login will be the same as your domain registrar login, sometimes it will be different. Your host is whichever company sells you the server space where your website lives. BlueHost, HostGator, GoDaddy, Siteground, and WPEngine are some examples. There are dozens of hosting companies out there.
3. Your CMS Login
CMS stands for content management system, and it’s the software that helps you get words, images, and videos onto your site without having to know how to program or write code.
Most people use WordPress, Shopify, Weebly, or Squarespace.
We’ll be working with this login a lot. We recommend giving us our own account username and password, which you can do in the “settings” section of your chosen CMS.
Sometimes your CMS login will be the same as your hosting login, as in the case with Weebly or Squarespace.
4. Analytics Logins
We’ll eventually want to know how your site is performing, so we recommend sharing Google Analytics and Search Console information as well. Here are instructions on how to do that:
Why So Much Access?
If we don’t get all of these logins, it might be impossible for you or us to launch the new website we make for you or to make changes in the future.
You’ll also want to keep them handy for your own needs, as you might need to switch providers later. You’ll also need to share them with the purchaser if you ever sell your business.
It’s a little like needing to give store keys to people who will be working in your store: you can’t expect them to make money for you if they can’t get access!