I have been helping out a past client and talking through his issues with his current web developer. The client I will call him Jeff.

Jeff was not happy with his developer who we will call The Crook. The Crook has spent years over promising, under delivering and making excuses for why nothing is his fault. It is either the result of hackers or the server needs an upgrade.

Jeff has been very up front with me about what has been happening and we have talked about me taking over the development of a new website and the maintenance and development of his web applications. For Jeff the red flags had been flying and he suspected the Crook was reading his email so he was using text, phone and private email to communicate.

Jeff had a fear that if the Crook feared he was going to be replaced, the Crook would hold his business hostage. Well over the weekend the Crook locked Jeff out from the server admin and his email. What the Crook has done is tantamount to theft of intellectual property. It is a criminal action but it is complicated by the fact Jeff does not want the Crook to delete his website and really shut down his business. At this point Jeff feels his hands are tied.

How to Protect Yourself

You should keep it all in your name. A developer does not need to be the de facto owner of your web site. While Jeff was the billing contact, the primary contact was the Crook, so the hosting provider doesn’t know who is the real site owner. Take recommendations from your developer on who to use, what plan is appropriate for the project but you should be the one to sign up and make sure it is your name. They can be the information technology contact which a lot of times is an option but it is your money and your business.

Most web hosts have security that would cover the account email. Any changes to the account email require verification by that email account. The same goes for your domain registration.

An even better plan may be to use your personal email address such as from a Gmail account. That way the developer can not access your email account which can happen if everything is under the same hosting account.

Hopefully you will never encounter anyone like the Crook. I am hoping Jeff can get this all resolved without having to pay this guy off to return control of his server and domain.