What is the difference between a domain registrar and a hosting provider?

Your domain registrar manages the web address (e.g. yourname.com) and its registration renewal. Your hosting provider stores the actual website files and serves them to visitors. They are separate accounts, often with separate billing, and one can change without affecting the other.

Is my custom email address included when I own my domain?

No. Owning a domain gives you control over where it points, but a mailbox at that domain is a separate email-hosting service with its own account and billing. Confirm independently who manages your mailbox and arrange a transfer if it sits under your designer's account.

What source files should I ask for at handover?

Request the raw design files (Figma or equivalent), any code repository, a full CMS content export, and a list of third-party assets with licence details. What is portable depends on the platform used — check your agreement and the platform's own export documentation.

What level of CMS access do I need as the site owner?

You need administrator-level access, not just an editor role. Admin access lets you manage users, install updates, and change core settings without relying on your designer. Verify this before formally signing off on the handover.

What should the agreed support boundary cover?

It should clearly state the duration, scope, and any cost of post-launch support — whether that is a set number of revision hours, a paid maintenance retainer, or no ongoing support at all. Get it confirmed in writing so both parties have the same expectation.

What to Keep After Your Portfolio Website Is Handed Over

Your portfolio site is live and your designer has sent the handover email. Before you file it away, take thirty minutes to verify you actually hold everything you need. Missing one login or one renewal reminder can cost you your domain — or your entire site — months later.

Domain Registration Access

Your domain (e.g. yourname.com) is registered with a registrar such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, Porkbun, or similar. This is separate from your hosting account and entirely separate from any email mailbox attached to that domain. Log in to the registrar directly and confirm the account is in your name, not your designer's.

Confirm you are the named registrant in the WHOIS or account owner field
Check the renewal date and set auto-renew if that is your preference — refer to your registrar's account settings for how this works
Enable two-factor authentication immediately
Note: owning the domain does not automatically give you hosting or email access — those are separate services

Hosting Account Credentials

Hosting is where your site's files actually live. It may be a cPanel account, a Vercel project, a Webflow workspace, a Squarespace subscription, or something else entirely. Each platform has its own billing cycle and renewal responsibility — check your account, not a blog post, for current details.

Obtain direct login credentials (username and password) or an ownership transfer confirmation
Locate the billing section and note who the paying card or invoice goes to
If the designer held the account, request a formal transfer rather than a shared password — shared access is fragile
Check whether your plan's storage, bandwidth, or feature set matches what was agreed

Email: A Mailbox Is Not the Same as a Domain

If you use a custom address such as hello@yourname.com, that mailbox sits in a separate email-hosting service — Google Workspace, Zoho, Fastmail, or a mailbox bundled with your hosting plan. Owning the domain does not automatically give you that mailbox. Confirm who manages it and where the billing sits.

If your designer set up the mailbox under their agency account, arrange a transfer or migration before they close the project. Losing access to a professional email address can disrupt client enquiries without warning.

Source Files and Export Availability

What you can take away depends on how the site was built. A coded site should come with a repository link or a zip of the source code. A site built on a visual platform may offer an export function or may lock content to that platform — check your actual agreement and the platform's own documentation, not assumptions.

Request the raw design files (Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch) as well as any working code repository
Ask for a full content export (XML, CSV, or equivalent) as a portable backup
Clarify whether proprietary platform files can be moved if you later switch providers
Store copies in at least two locations you control — cloud storage and a local drive

Editable Content and CMS Access

If your portfolio uses a CMS — WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Sanity, or similar — you need admin-level access, not just an editor role. Admin access lets you install updates, add users, and change settings without going back to your designer.

Walk through updating a project entry, swapping an image, and changing a contact detail before the handover is officially closed. If you cannot do those things, the handover is not complete.

Asset Permissions and Licences

Fonts, stock photography, icons, and third-party plugins often carry licence restrictions. A licence held by your designer's studio may not automatically transfer to you. Ask for written confirmation of which assets are covered and under whose account.

Get a list of every third-party asset used on the site
Confirm whether licences are perpetual or subscription-based, and who holds the subscription
For custom illustrations or photography, confirm IP ownership in writing
Check plugin or library licences individually — they vary widely

The Agreed Support Boundary

Handover marks the end of the build, not the start of free ongoing support. Before the project closes, confirm in writing exactly what post-handover support was agreed — a number of hours, a maintenance retainer, or nothing at all. Vague assumptions here lead to frustration on both sides.

Keep the handover documentation, login details, asset list, and support terms in a single folder you can find quickly. Six months from now, when a renewal reminder lands or a plugin breaks, you will be glad you did.