Summary

• Seller to transfer the domain/ Buyer to accept the domain
• Buyer to sign up for a hosting account/ seller to provide access to their hosting account
• Seller to provide access to all connected third-party services and accounts
• Seller to send to the buyer any files related to the website

Details

Transferring a website to a new owner/ receiving a website from a current owner is straight forward process - albeit one with a few steps. This guide aims to assist in outlining the steps to compete this process. Please also note that there are many companies that offer website transfer services. If you have any concerns about the process this may be a better option that trying to do it yourself as their site migration team will take care of the entire website transfer process for you.

Seller to transfer the domain/ Buyer to accept the domain

The first step is to transfer the domain, please see this guide: How to transfer ownership of a domain

Buyer to sign up for a hosting account/ seller to provide access to their hosting account

After the domain has been transferred, the buyer will need to find a suitable hosting provider for the website. 

As a seller, transferring a website is the most straightforward. Simply provide the new owner with access to your hosting account. Make sure that any confidential information is removed before doing so - or obtain the buyer's details and change the account’s contact information to match the new owner. 

If you are using a Content Management System (CMS) the new owner will also need details for this.

Seller to provide access to all connected third-party services and accounts

A website often has additional third party services such as Google Analytics that will also need to be transferred to the new owner. With respect to Google Analytics, since it is linked to your Google account and therefore other services that you will want to continue to use, it would be better for the buyer to setup a Google Analytics account and the website transferred to that. 

Seller to send to the buyer any files related to the website

The last thing that should be considered are any files that are associated with the website. This can include logos, icons and other images or media.

The above should cover almost everything involved in transferring a website to a new owner.  As mentioned previously though, many companies offer website transfer services. If you have any concerns about the process this may be a better option that trying to do it yourself as their site migration team will take care of the entire website transfer process for you.

Please also note that Flippa can only provide limited advice for any asset transfer and the transfer of any other inclusions within a sale and any advice should be followed up and verified as it is purely provided as assistance and not absolute direction. The exact process and nature of transfer is the responsibility of buyer and seller and should be discussed and agreed upon by both parties.