Handing your ExpressionEngine site over to a new developer is not simply a matter of sharing login credentials and moving on. Done without care, a developer transition can leave your site in a poorly documented state, expose vulnerabilities, or result in a new agency spending significant time trying to understand a platform they did not build. The questions worth asking before the process begins will determine how smoothly it goes.
The first question is about documentation. Does the current developer have records of what addons are installed and why, what custom templates do, where integrations connect to, and what the site depends on to function? If the answer is no, the handover process should begin with a structured audit before any credentials change hands. Documentation gaps discovered after the previous developer is no longer engaged are considerably more expensive to fill.
Access to the ExpressionEngine control panel, the server, the domain registrar, and any third-party services connected to the site should all be verified before the transition. It is common for credentials to be held by the outgoing agency rather than the business, and discovering that after the relationship has ended can cause real operational problems.
Before accepting responsibility for an ExpressionEngine site, a new developer should understand its current condition: the EE version, the PHP version, the state of addons, and whether there are any known issues or deferred maintenance. A site audit at the point of handover protects both the business and the incoming developer. It establishes a clear baseline and avoids the incoming developer being held responsible for problems that predate their involvement.
Addon licences, hosting contracts, third-party service subscriptions, and SSL certificate renewals all have renewal dates. Understanding what ongoing commitments the site has, and when they fall, is part of a proper handover. Missing a renewal can cause service interruption or loss of access to tools the site depends on.
The cleanest handovers happen when the outgoing developer is still engaged and willing to participate. Wherever possible, a structured period of overlap, during which the incoming developer can ask questions and get direct answers, will save time and reduce risk. If the outgoing agency is no longer reachable, a specialist ExpressionEngine developer conducting a thorough audit of the site before taking it on is the next best approach.
If you are about to hand your ExpressionEngine site over to a new developer, get in touch with Karl before you do.
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A significant part of the work we do at Expression 37 involves inheriting ExpressionEngine sites that were built by developers or agencies who are no longer involved. The circumstances vary, but the practical challenge is always similar: a site you didn’t build, with code you didn’t write, and decisions that were never documented.
It is more common than most people realise. A business has been running an ExpressionEngine site for years, the relationship with the agency that built it gradually fades, and eventually there is no-one actively looking after the site. Understanding why this happens helps you know what to do about it.
ExpressionEngine is a specialist platform. The community of genuinely experienced EE developers is small, particularly in the UK, and the difference between someone who has worked with EE seriously and someone who has touched it once or twice is significant.
Most clients come to us when their site has started to feel like a risk rather than an asset. Whether the agency relationship has ended, an upgrade has been delayed, or the site has simply grown beyond what it can handle, a conversation costs nothing.
Get in touch with KarlTrusted by established businesses and growing brands across the UK
Expression 37 works with a small number of clients at any one time. These are some of them.
Karl founded Expression 37 in 2007 and has worked exclusively with ExpressionEngine and Craft CMS ever since. He does not take on work in other platforms and does not hand work to other developers. Expression 37 is deliberately small, because the kind of support that matters to clients with business-critical sites is specific to their site, not something that scales in the conventional sense. If you work with Expression 37, you work with Karl.
Find out how we workWe have known Karl for a good number of years now and he has always been there for us providing a top class level of service. Karl always brings that level of dedication and professionalism to the table that you would expect. Trustworthy and reliable, and a great asset to our workflow.
Daniel Hirtenstein - Commercial Director
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