# Building and handing over client websites: a guide for agencies Quelle: https://madpublishing.ch/en/blog/building-and-handing-over-client-websites Stand: 2026-10-10 > You build the website, your client gets it in their own account with everything that belongs to it, and you stay involved as a member of their team. We’re an agency ourselves. In every client project the same question comes up sooner or later: who owns the website in the end, and who looks after it? In many projects the hosting is in the agency’s name, the client gets a login for the CMS, and the bill is passed on every year. It works, but it isn’t tidy. If the client wants to move on later, the hunt for logins begins. With MADLAB // Publishing it’s simpler. You build the website in your own account. When it’s finished, you hand it over to your client. And if they like, they then bring you into their team. Here’s how it works and what I agree with the client beforehand. ## Building in your own account You create the website in your account and build it in chat, with Claude or ChatGPT. The free plan is enough for that. The website then runs under an address on freesite.space with a small badge, and search engines are asked not to index it. For a work in progress, that’s exactly right. For sign-off you show the client a preview. A preview address is normally valid for an hour. With a paid plan you can add the add-on with preview addresses that last a week. Then the client can take their time and pass the address round internally. Plans and add-ons are covered in [Plans and add-ons](https://madpublishing.ch/en/help/plans-and-add-ons). ## The handover Once the website is signed off, open it in the portal. In the overview you’ll find the “Hand over website” card. Enter your client’s email address there and confirm with your password. The client gets a link that’s valid for 14 days. If they don’t have an account yet, they create one. They then see what they’re taking over and accept. Until then everything stays with you, and you can withdraw the offer at any time. Everything that belongs to the website moves with it: the files, all versions, the address, the statistics and, for PHP websites, the data area with forms or orders. A domain you brought along comes too. The handover is free and works on every plan, including the free plan. If you’ve already paid for a plan for the website, it runs until the end of the period and then won’t renew on your card. From then on the client books it themselves. The details are in [Handing a website over to another account](https://madpublishing.ch/en/help/handing-over-a-website). ## Staying involved afterwards Most clients want to change small things themselves: opening hours, a new photo, a notice on the home page. For bigger jobs, though, they still want you. That’s what the team is for. The client buys a seat under “Team” for CHF 20.– a year including VAT and invites you. You accept the invitation with your existing login. Their website then appears in your list next to your own, and your assistant sees it too. You can build, show previews and publish, just as before. The plan, invoices, buying domains and the team itself stay with the client. You can’t give their website away. That’s deliberate: the client stays in control at all times. If you stop working together, they remove you and you no longer see the website straight away. Nobody has to swap or reset passwords. How the team works in detail is explained in [Working as a team](https://madpublishing.ch/en/help/working-as-a-team). ## Hand over or keep? Not every website needs handing over. Some clients don’t want to deal with anything and would rather get one invoice a year from you. Then the website stays in your account, you pay for the plan and pass the cost on. One thing worth knowing: a team member sees every website in an account. So it’s better not to bring a client into your agency account, otherwise they’ll also see your other clients’ websites. If they want to make changes themselves, handing over is the right route. ## Three things I agree beforehand **The domain.** A domain you buy from us in your account belongs to your account. As long as it’s attached to the website, the handover can’t be started yet, because the holder at the registrar has to change too. At the moment we do that by hand. It’s easier to put the domain in the client’s name from the start: either they bring their existing domain, or they buy it in their own account after the handover. See [Connecting a domain you already have](https://madpublishing.ch/en/help/connect-your-domain). **Who pays for the plan.** Until the handover, the website can stay on the free plan. If it needs to go live under the right domain before that, you book the plan. In that case agree with the client that they’ll pay themselves from the next period. **How the client looks after it.** It’s best to show the client at sign-off how to connect their assistant and make the first changes. After that they usually only need the [ten sentences that work](https://madpublishing.ch/en/blog/looking-after-your-website-in-chat). [oceya.ch](https://madpublishing.ch/en/blog/case-study-oceya-ch) shows how well that goes: the owner looks after his website himself, mostly by voice input. And if he gets stuck, he opens a ticket with us right in the chat, see [Reaching support](https://madpublishing.ch/en/help/reaching-support). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the handover cost anything? No. The handover is included in every plan, including the free plan. You only pay for the website’s plan and, if the client brings you into their team, for the seat. ### Does my client need an account already? No. They create one through the link in the invitation and land straight back at the handover afterwards. An account is free. ### What happens if the client doesn’t accept? Then everything stays with you. The link is valid for 14 days, after which it lapses. You can offer the handover again at any time, or withdraw it beforehand. ### Can I get a website back after the handover? Only if the client hands it back to you. After the handover it belongs to them, and only they can pass it on. If you’re in their team, you can keep working on it but not dispose of it. ### Will my client see my other websites if they bring me into their team? No. You work in their account, not the other way round. They only see their own websites. You see their websites in addition to your own.