How to Switch Web Design Companies Without Losing Your Site

To switch web design companies without losing your website, take control of the accounts before you give notice. Confirm your company is the listed registrant of the domain, get every login in writing, and export your content while you still have access. Then, when the new site launches, point every old URL at its closest match with a permanent redirect and leave those redirects in place. Done in that order, the site, the company email, and the search rankings all survive the handoff.

Bad exits happen because nobody wrote down who owns what. Check your contract first: miss the notice window and most agreements renew for another full term. Still deciding whether a rebuild is needed? Start with the signs you need a website redesign.

Step 1: Confirm who owns the domain

The domain is the one asset you cannot rebuild. Run an ICANN Lookup to find which registrar holds the name, log in, confirm the registrant name and organization are your company, and turn on auto renew.

If the domain already sits in your own account, you do not need to transfer it, only to change DNS when the new site is ready. To move registrars, ask for the authorization code, also called the AuthInfo or EPP code. ICANN's transfer FAQ for registrants states that your registrar must provide you with the AuthInfo code within five calendar days of your request. Two timing rules matter:

A registrar must apply a 60 day inter registrar transfer lock following a Change of Registrant, meaning a change to the registrant name, organization, or email address. The policy lets a registrar offer an opt out, but only before the change is requested. So do not tidy up the contact details right before a move.
A registrar may deny a transfer requested within 60 days of the domain's creation date, and may deny one within 60 days of a previous transfer. Those are permissions the policy gives registrars, not guarantees.

Step 2: Get a written list of every login

Ask the outgoing company in writing for access to each of these:

Domain registrar
Hosting and DNS host, plus SSL
Google Business Profile
Search Console, Google Analytics 4, Tag Manager, and Google Ads
Where RFQ submissions go: email routing, any CRM, and where uploaded drawings land

Business Profile has a documented route if the agency will not add you. Start Google's add a business flow, find your existing listing, and choose Request access rather than creating a duplicate. Google Business Profile Help states that the current owner is notified by email and has 3 days to respond. If they do not respond you may have the option to claim the profile, and Google notes that option is not always available.

Step 3: Lower your DNS TTL before cutover

TTL sets how long a DNS record stays cached before a change to it takes effect. Google's DNS documentation spells out the consequence: a record with a TTL of 86400 seconds takes up to 24 hours for changes to go into effect, and a shorter TTL only applies once the prior period expires. So if your records sit at 86400, drop them to 300 seconds a day before launch, and still expect a short overlap.

Step 4: Inventory and export your content

How much of your site comes out cleanly depends on the platform.

Wix: Wix's help center states that currently it is not possible to export blog posts to other platforms. A CMS collection can be exported as a CSV file containing all items and fields, including hidden and system fields.
Squarespace: Squarespace exports a WordPress compatible XML file covering layout pages, one blog page with its posts, text blocks, image blocks, and gallery pages. Its own exclusion list includes store pages, portfolio pages, extra blog pages, video and audio blocks, drafts, style settings, and custom CSS.
WordPress: Tools then Export produces an XML file of posts, pages, custom post types, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, custom taxonomies, and users. It is a content file, so budget separately for the uploads folder and the database.

Some hosted builders do not let you move the site itself to another host, so plan to rebuild the page designs rather than assuming you can lift them. Either way, crawl your public site and save the pages and images before you cancel anything. For the wider comparison, see Wix and Squarespace for manufacturers.

Step 5: Add your own account to Search Console and GA4

Search Console has verified owners, who proved ownership with a token such as an uploaded HTML file, and delegated owners, granted ownership by a verified owner without one. Google states that both have the same permissions. Verify your own company account now, and when you remove the agency later, remove its token too: Google warns that as long as a user's verification token remains for a property, a deleted owner can re verify ownership of it.

In Google Analytics 4, adding or modifying users requires the Administrator role at the account or property level, so ask the agency to make your company account an Administrator on the existing property.

Step 6: Map every old URL to a 301 redirect

Google's guidance for a site move with URL changes is to gather old URLs from your sitemap, server logs, and analytics, then redirect each one with an HTTP permanent redirect such as 301 or 308.

Map each URL to its closest match. Google says Googlebot can follow up to 10 hops in a chain of redirects but advises redirecting to the final destination directly. Dumping unrelated old pages on the homepage usually loses the rankings they earned.
Test after launch, submit a sitemap of the new URLs, and confirm each old URL returns a single 301 landing on a page that returns 200.

Keep the redirects as long as possible, which Google describes as generally at least one year, and expect the move to take time: Google says a small to medium sized website can take a few weeks for most pages to move. The Change of Address tool is separate. It applies only when you move from one domain or subdomain to another, not to a redesign on the same domain and not to a www to non www change. It requires both properties under the same Google account, and Google forwards signals for 180 days.

Step 7: Keep email working through the move

MX records route your company email and TXT records carry SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. If your nameservers move to a new DNS host, every one of those records has to exist there or buyer replies stop arriving, so export the full zone beforehand and compare it afterwards, record by record.

If the mailbox provider itself is changing, allow for the cutover. Google Workspace Help states that it can take up to 48 hours for your Google MX records to propagate, and that until the new records are active, emails are directed to your previous email provider. Its advice is to schedule the change when email volume is low. For any other provider, timing depends on the TTL on the records, not on a fixed figure.

Step 8: What to do if the outgoing company refuses

When your company is the listed registrant, deal with the registrar directly rather than through the agency. Two ICANN processes get confused here. The Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy is a process between registrars: under it, either the gaining registrar or the losing registrar may submit a complaint, so it is not something you file as a domain owner. What ICANN tells registrants to do is different. Its FAQ for registrants says that where a registrar has not handled a transfer properly, you should submit a formal transfer complaint through ICANN's complaint form.

Picking the next company so you never repeat this

Before you sign with anyone, ask in writing who is listed as the registrant, whose Google account owns Search Console and Analytics, and what is handed over if you leave. Our guide on how to choose a manufacturing web designer covers what else to ask.

Exhibit Domain plans are $99, $199, and $499 per month billed annually, with hosting and SSL included. Monthly only billing costs 25 percent more and cancels at any time. You can edit your content at any time, whether you host with Exhibit Domain or move elsewhere later. See plans and pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose my Google rankings if I switch web design companies?

Not if you plan the move. Map every old URL to its closest new page using HTTP permanent redirects such as 301 and 308, submit a sitemap of the new URLs, and keep the redirects for as long as possible, which Google describes as generally at least one year.

How do I get my domain back from my web designer?

Run an ICANN Lookup to find the registrar and confirm your company is the listed registrant. If the domain sits in the designer's account, ask them to move it to one in your name. To transfer to a different registrar you need the authorization code, and ICANN's FAQ for registrants states that your registrar must provide the AuthInfo code within five calendar days of the request.

Can I take my Wix or Squarespace site to a new designer?

Only partly. Wix's help center states that currently it is not possible to export blog posts to other platforms, though a CMS collection exports as a CSV file with all items and fields. Squarespace exports a WordPress compatible XML file covering layout pages, one blog page, text and image blocks, and galleries, while store pages, portfolio pages, and custom CSS do not.

Do I need the Change of Address tool in Search Console?

Only if you are moving from one domain or subdomain to another. A redesign on the same domain does not need it, and Google says not to use it for a www to non www change. For a domain move you need redirects in place and both properties under the same Google account.