There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to websites and online services, and sometimes traditional business sale checklists don't cover the specifics of these areas. So we've put together a checklist of things both parties might need to address as part of a business sale. It is most definitely not exhaustive but you might use this as the base for your own checklist.
When your domains, hosting and/or website services are provided by Precedence, we are very happy to provide guidance and advice on what needs to be done by each party. Just ask!
Information the seller should give to the buyer:
- A list of service providers and what each is responsible for, e.g. internet connection, email services, domain name registration, web hosting, website development
- A list of domain names owned by the business
- A login to the domain registrar(s) for the domains, or a Domain Password for each
- A login to the web hosting company's customer area, or the FTP & Control Panel login details for the web hosting account(s)
- Email account login details
- The website's Content Management System login details (if the website has a CMS)
- Google Account login details (for managing Google My Business, Google Analytics, Google Ads)
- Login details for any other online services associated with the website or the business in general (e.g. social media, TripAdvisor, Dropbox, backup services)
What the seller (or buyer, with the seller's help) should do as part of the changeover:
- Ask the domain registrar to initiate a Change of Registrant process for each Australian (.e.g. .com.au) domain name, and to change the registrant details for each global (e.g. .com) domain -- note that a fee will be payable for the Change of Registrant for each Australian domain and both parties will need to sign a form
- Contact each service provider and notify them of the sale and supply updated contact details for the buyer
What the buyer should do as soon as practical after the changeover:
- Set up email accounts
- Login to all online services and update contact and payment details; for any services that
- Login to Google My Business and make sure the business contact details and information are accurate
- If Google Ads advertising is being run, login to Google Ads and change the credit card details -- this would be a good opportunity to evaluate the advertising spend and make sure it is delivering good value
- Check over the website content for any references to the sellers that should be updated
- Review each online service to ensure they are working as expected and there are no issues that need to be addressed, e.g. a review on TripAdvisor that needs a reply, or a backup that isn't running
