The previous developer doesn't answer

It's common for a former developer to have set up the domain, the hosting and WordPress on their own accounts. When they stop responding, you're left without access to a site you pay for. What you own and are entitled to depends on who owns each account and what your agreement says.

Start by finding out what you have access to today. It may be more than you think.

Map out who owns what

Go through these parts and note who owns each one:

• The domain: look it up with the registry or the registrar, for example ICANN Lookup for .com and other generic top-level domains. If your company is listed as the registrant, the domain is yours. The lookup also shows the registrar.
• The hosting: see who receives the invoice. If your company pays the hosting provider directly, that suggests the account is in your company's name.
• WordPress: check whether you have your own account with the Administrator role.
• The code: if the developer built a custom theme or custom plugins, the agreement determines who holds the rights to that code.
• DNS: the domain can be registered to your company while its DNS sits in an account the developer controls, for example in Cloudflare. The domain lookup shows which name servers it uses.
• Google services: Search Console, Analytics and Tag Manager may be set up on the developer's Google account.

Read the agreement and the invoices

Find the quote, the agreement and the emails from when the site was built. Look for what they say about ownership of the domain and the code, about handover when the work ends, and about whose name the accounts should be in. If you're unsure what the agreement entitles you to, have a lawyer read it.

Try to log in to WordPress yourself

1. Go to yourdomain.com/wp-login.php and click "Lost your password?".
2. Enter your email address and click "Get New Password". If there is an account with that address, you receive a link by email.
3. If you can log in as an administrator, export the content straight away. Go to Tools → Export, choose "All content" and click "Download Export File".

The export file contains posts, pages, comments, menus and custom fields. Images and other media files aren't included, only links to them. The theme, the plugins and the settings aren't included either, so the file doesn't replace a full backup. Create one with a plugin such as UpdraftPlus, which saves both the files and the database.

Contact the providers directly

You don't need the developer for everything.

1. If the domain is registered to your company, contact the registrar. Ask them to change the registrant email address to one you monitor, and ask for the transfer code if you want to change registrar.
2. If the DNS sits in an account the developer controls, the registrar can change the domain's name servers so that you manage DNS yourself. First note the current DNS records, especially the A, MX and SPF records, for example with MXToolbox. Set them up at the new DNS provider before the name servers change, or the website and email stop working.
3. If the domain is registered to the developer's company, it has to be transferred, and the developer has to approve the change of registrant.
4. If the hosting account is in your company's name, the hosting provider can help you get access. If it's in the developer's name, you can ask the hosting provider whether they can move the site to an account in your name. The developer will have to approve that.

Send the developer a specific list of what you're asking for, and set a reasonable deadline. Keep a copy.

Take over Search Console and Analytics

You can take over Search Console without the developer. Add the domain as a property in Google Search Console, and verify ownership with a TXT record in DNS. For Google Analytics and Tag Manager, the developer has to give you administrator access. Otherwise you have to create new accounts and lose the history.

When you're stuck

If both the domain and the hosting are in the developer's name and they still don't respond, you can't get access without their consent or a ruling. Most top-level domains have a dispute process, but it only covers rights to a name or trademark. A lawyer has to assess what you're entitled to under the agreement. If the site is still online, a new provider can copy the content and rebuild the site, but a theme or plugins the developer built themselves have to be rebuilt.