Locked out

Lost access to your website? Work out which part you lost.

A website is four accounts in different places, and people usually lose only one. Find which one and the way back gets short.

Get help recovering access(330) 305-2750

The four accounts, most powerful first

  • Registrar: where the domain is registered. Whoever holds this controls everything else.
  • DNS: where the website and email point.
  • Hosting: the server with the files and database.
  • CMS: your WordPress login. The least powerful, and the one people think of first.

Find out what you control, before you call anyone

Every one of these is a public lookup. No password needed.

  1. Find your registrar

    Enter your domain at lookup.icann.org. It shows the registrar and the expiry date.

  2. Check the expiry date now

    If it is close, that is your most urgent problem. After expiry there is a grace period, then a costly redemption period, then anyone can register it.

  3. Find who runs DNS

    Look up the nameservers. Their names usually say the company: your registrar, your host, Cloudflare, or a service in a former developer's account.

  4. Find the host

    Look up the IP address behind the domain. Old card statements often name the host too.

  5. Find where email goes

    Look up the MX records. Password resets for every other account go to a mailbox, so know who controls it.

What you lost, and the way back

Just the WordPress login

Easiest

Signs: The site works. You just can't log in to edit it.

Fix: Reset by email, or from the hosting control panel reset the password or add a new admin. Same day.

The hosting account

Common

Signs: You know the host but not the login, or it was opened in a developer's name.

Fix: Call the host with the billing email, invoices, or the last four digits of the card on file.

DNS, but not the domain

Common

Signs: Nameservers point at a service you can't log in to.

Fix: The domain outranks DNS. Copy every record, including MX, then point the nameservers somewhere you control.

The domain itself

The hard one

Signs: The domain sits in someone else's registrar account.

Fix: Ask in writing for it to be moved to your account, or for the transfer code. If that fails, open a dispute with the registrar using proof you paid.

What proving ownership takes

  • At a registrar: ID or business documents matching the registrant on record.
  • At a host: account number, billing email, invoices, or the card on file.
  • Anywhere: proof you paid. Gather invoices and email threads before you start.
  • If email is down too, fix that first. A business can survive a dark website for a week. Missing every email is worse.
My developer disappearedWhen a person holds the keys.DNS helpRepointing without dropping email.Website rescueTaking over a site nobody looks after.

Questions

How do I find out who my domain is registered with?

Use lookup.icann.org. It names the registrar and the expiry date. Personal details are usually hidden, but the registrar is the company you need.

Can I just rebuild the site somewhere else?

If you control the domain, yes, and sometimes that is fastest. If you don't, get the domain first.

Why can't I reset the password by email?

The recovery email often lives at the domain you lost, which makes a loop. Break it one level up: hosting access resets WordPress, registrar access repoints email.

What is a transfer authorization code?

A code from your current registrar that lets you move the domain to another registrar. Getting it from a cooperative former developer is the cleanest ending.

Send the domain. I will tell you what you still control.

A plain list of registrar, DNS, host, and mail provider, and which door to knock on first.

Ask about my domain(330) 305-2750