Project takeover
- Price
- from $1,000
- Timeline
- 1–2 weeks
- Experience
- 100+ projects · 10+ years · 9+ countries
We take over a website or web app from its previous developers: audit, documentation and continued work without downtime
The agency left, the in-house developer quit, and the project is still here: no documentation, unclear hosting and code nobody dares to touch. The longer a project sits without an owner, the more it costs to bring it back to life.
We take the project over carefully: gather access, get to grips with the code and infrastructure, document how everything works and fix the riskiest parts first. After that the project can move forward — with us or with a new team.
What we do
- Gather access and transfer ownership to you: domain, hosting, repository, services
- Audit the code, security and performance
- Restore a working development environment and deployment process
- Write architecture and deployment documentation
- Draw up a prioritized fix plan
- Set up monitoring and backups
The state projects arrive in
The domain and hosting are in the former agency's name
We help transfer the domain, hosting, repository and paid services to your company. If the agency is unreachable, we go through the registrar and providers.
The site runs, but nobody knows how to deploy it
We rebuild the development environment and document deployment step by step. Where possible we automate it, so releases don't depend on one person.
Nobody dares touch the code — every fix breaks something
First we cover the key flows with checks — forms, payments, login. Then we make changes, and every change has to pass those checks.
There are services and subscriptions nobody can explain
We map everything the project depends on: APIs, email, CDN, payment gateways. What's unused gets shut off, what's critical moves into your name.
The business needs new features while the project is stuck
While the audit runs, we handle urgent tasks on an isolated copy. Development doesn't wait until we've read every line of code.
When to hand your project to us
A good fit if
- The previous team is gone and the project has no owner
- You want to switch vendors but are afraid of breaking a working site
- You need to understand what you have before deciding whether to build on it or rebuild
Not a fit if
- The project is being shut down in a few months — a takeover won't pay off; we can help with quick fixes
- A full rebuild has already been decided — we'll go straight to a new website project
Your project, back under control
First, do no harm
For the first weeks we rewrite nothing: we learn the project, stabilize it and only then propose changes.No blame game
We assess the previous team’s code calmly and to the point: what works, what’s risky and what can stay as is.Work keeps moving
Urgent tasks and fixes run alongside the audit, so the business doesn’t wait while we get up to speed.
How we work
- 01
Access handover
1 dayWe collect access to the repository, hosting, domain and services and take an independent backup right away.
You get Full access for you and us and a fresh backup outside the old setup - 02
Code audit
1–4 daysWe review the code, dependencies, build and deploy and look for vulnerabilities and what will break first.
You get An audit report with risks ranked by urgency - 03
Documentation
1–2 daysWe write down how the project works, how to run it locally and how to ship changes.
You get Project documentation in the repository - 04
Urgent fixes
1–2 daysWe close critical vulnerabilities and fix whatever is blocking your work right now.
You get Critical issues fixed and a working release process - 05
Roadmap
1 dayWe suggest what comes next: ongoing support, improvements or rewriting specific parts.
You get An estimated work plan and an option to move to support
What to gather before the handover
- Every credential you have: domain, hosting, repository, admin, email
- Contacts of the previous developers, even if you parted on bad terms
- Contracts and invoices for hosting, domain and services — they show who owns what
- A list of what's broken right now or needed urgently
- Any documentation, correspondence and specs from earlier phases
A call and a project inventory
In half an hour we find out what's known about the project and what you can access. Afterwards we send a takeover plan, audit timeline and estimate.
Related articles
All news
Left with a project
nobody understands?
We’ll gather access, audit the code and document how it all works, then fix the riskiest parts first — without downtime for your business.
We help recover access through the domain registrar, the hosting provider and other services. If the source is lost, we recover what we can from the live server.
From $1,000 for the audit. It covers the code, servers and access, a list of risks and a work plan with estimates. The audit price depends on the size of the project, the number of services and integrations and whether documentation exists. Further work is estimated based on the audit.
No, unless it’s necessary. We stabilize and document first, and rewrite only what really blocks progress — agreed with you.
Usually 1–2 weeks: audit, access recovery, documentation and a work plan. For a large project in poor shape we confirm the timeline after a first look at the code.
Yes: the current state, a list of risks and a work plan with estimates — even if you then decide to work with another team.