This guide is written for someone with no technical background. You do not need to understand how websites work to follow these steps. If anything is unclear, just email nick@neobookworm.uk and I will help you through it.
What “taking over” actually means
When I build your website, I host it on my account with a service called Netlify. The £9.99 a month you pay me covers that hosting, plus keeping everything secure and making changes when you need them. When you decide to take over, two things happen: you become your own host (opening a free Netlify account and moving the site there — hosting a single static website on Netlify's free plan costs nothing), and I send you all the files that make up your website. Your web address has always been in your name, so that doesn’t change.
What you’ll need
A computer, laptop or tablet. Your email address. About an hour of time — though much of it is just waiting.
Step-by-step: setting up your own hosting
Step 1 — Go to netlify.com and click “Sign up”. Create a free account and confirm your email.
Step 2 — Send me your Netlify email address. I’ll transfer your website directly to your account.
Step 3 — You’ll receive an email from Netlify saying a site has been transferred to you. Click the link to accept.
Step 4 — Check your Netlify account is on the free Starter plan. Hosting a single static website like yours is included at no cost — you do not need to add a payment method.
Step 5 — I’ll help you connect your web address to your new Netlify account. This takes about 10 minutes.
Step 6 — Check your website looks exactly as it did before. If anything looks wrong, contact me and I’ll fix it at no charge — this is covered as part of the handover.
Making changes after handover
Option A — Ask me: Even after you’ve taken over hosting, I’m happy to make changes. I charge £25/hour with a minimum of half an hour (£12.50). Most small changes take 15–30 minutes. Just email me with what you need.
Option B — Do it yourself: Netlify has a built-in tool for editing simple things. If I set up the content management login as part of your site build, you can use that — it works like editing a Word document.
After you take over, you’re responsible for your own Netlify account. Hosting is free on the Starter plan, but it’s worth logging in once or twice a year to confirm your account status hasn’t changed.
Your web address
Your web address has always been registered in your name — not mine. It renews once a year, usually for £8–15. You should have received a confirmation email when it was first registered with the login details for renewing it. If you can’t find this, contact me and I’ll help you track it down.
Get in touch and we’ll talk through the options.