Short answer: Website builder with source code requires operational control, not just downloadable files. A capable new team should be able to obtain the source, restore the data, supply secrets, reproduce the build, deploy it, and understand how recovery works.
Use a handover as the ownership test
Website builder with source code requires operational control, not just downloadable files. A capable new team should be able to obtain the source, restore the data, supply secrets, reproduce the build, deploy it, and understand how recovery works.
Give a capable person who did not create the project the repository and written access instructions. If they cannot run, change, and deploy it without the original platform, record what remains dependent.
Inspect the source and dependency chain
Confirm the export includes application code, configuration, schema changes, build manifests, and any generated assets required to reproduce the release. Identify proprietary runtime pieces that are referenced but not delivered.
A folder of files is not enough if package versions, build steps, or commercial dependencies are missing.
Prove that data can leave intact
Export representative accounts and page, service, location, lead, including relationships, timestamps, uploads, and stable identifiers. Restore them into a clean environment and compare counts plus a handful of important records.
Document retention rules and who controls backups. A CSV download may be useful while still falling short of a restorable product.
Reproduce the runtime elsewhere
Supply secrets through the new environment, build from a clean checkout, apply data changes, and start the service behind a different host. Record health checks and background work as well as the visible home page.
This exercise reveals hidden platform services, undocumented environment assumptions, and absolute URLs that an export screen cannot show.
Own recovery as well as deployment
Write down monitoring, backup frequency, restoration, secret rotation, certificate renewal, and rollback. Assign responsibility rather than treating infrastructure control as a purely legal benefit.
More control creates useful options, but it also creates work. Choose which responsibilities stay managed and which genuinely need to move.
Match commercial terms to the technical evidence
Review licence terms for generated code, included assets, dependencies, and data. Confirm what happens to access and running services after cancellation.
Keep the successful handover notes with the project. They are stronger evidence of portability than a marketing promise made before the build existed.