Post Summary: Two Outcomes for the Site, Depending on the Buyer
Sellers call bracing for a mountain of files, expecting the site to be one more job stacked onto a deal that has already worn them down. One of them reached the end of that conversation and called it the easiest piece of the entire sale, after being certain it would be the worst.
The buyer decides which way it goes. Continue with us and the only thing that changes is who holds the account. Walk away instead, and a subscription simply ends, while a site you own gets packaged up and handed over.
The one thing worth doing is saying something early. A note while the deal is still in progress means everything is ready the day it closes rather than sorted out afterward. Any fee is handled case by case.
The Question That Hits You Mid-Sale
You’ve been through the negotiations, the lawyers, the back and forth. You’ve spent weeks, maybe months, getting this business sale across the finish line. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, a thought hits you that you hadn’t planned for.
What happens to the website?
That’s the call we get. And every time, the client on the other end is bracing for one more complicated thing on a list that’s already too long.
The Part Sellers Dread Most
A lot of clients brace for this huge file situation, like the website transfer is going to be some massive technical project on top of everything else they’re juggling. They’re already exhausted from the sale itself. Sales are not easy. And now there’s this thing they don’t fully understand, and they’re expecting it to be another headache.
It wasn’t.
The client who told us they were selling, the moment they realized how the handoff was going to go, their reaction was almost disbelief. Oh my god, everything that’s gone on in this business sale, this is the easiest thing and I thought it was going to be the hardest.
That reaction is worth sitting with. This person had been through the entire sale process, the legal work, the financials, the conversations that don’t go the way you planned. And the website, the thing they had expected to be a nightmare, turned out to be the simplest part of the whole deal. Whether it’s a sale or something more personal that pulls you away from the business, we don’t add to the pile. We take things off it.
I think that’s so freaking cool.
How the Handoff Works, Both Ways
It comes down to what the buyer wants to do.
If the buyer stays with us, nothing changes. The site keeps running, the owner of record gets updated, and that’s the whole handoff. Same site, same setup, new name on the account.
If the buyer would rather not stay, it depends on how you’re set up. On a subscription, you cancel and the site comes down. If you own the site outright, we build a backup and send it over, and the buyer’s people take it from there.
Any fee for the handoff is case by case.
Either way, the seller walks away without one more fire to put out.
If you stay with us, it’s white glove all the way around. That doesn’t stop because the business is changing hands.
If you’re partway through a sale and the website is one of those things keeping you up at night, it doesn’t have to be. Selling a business is hard enough. The website part doesn’t have to add to it.
Yeetish Question
Do I need to tell my web company before the sale goes through?
Yes, and sooner is better. Not because the process is complicated, but because we want to be ready when you are. A quick call or email letting us know a sale is in the works means we can have everything lined up so the handoff is smooth the moment the deal closes. No scrambling. No surprises. Just one less thing on your list.