$ diff before-handover after-handover
Most sites we look after were built by someone else. Here is the typical difference handover aims to make. Your starting point may be better or worse; we find out before promising anything.
--- before handover
+++ after handover
@@ access @@
Logins scattered across old emails and a former developer
Accounts listed, in your name, shared with least access needed
@@ knowledge @@
Nobody quite sure how deployment works
Written release steps anyone competent could follow
Customisations undocumented
Short map of the code and the non-obvious parts
@@ safety @@
Backups assumed, never tested
Backups confirmed and a restore actually tried
Plugins and libraries years out of date
Update plan, riskiest items first
@@ support @@
Problems found by customers
Monitoring finds them first, where possible
No clear person to call
One support contact and a ticket route
handover checklist
what we ask for- hosting / server access
- domain and DNS access
- code repository or a full file copy
- admin logins for the site or app
- any notes, however rough, from the previous team
Missing some of this is common. Part of handover is recovering what can be recovered.
> ready to hand over? /ticket