Navigating Website Management After Inheriting a Business

In an unexpected turn of events, I recently found myself in a unique situation—my boss passed away and bequeathed his small company to me. While I’m grateful for this opportunity, I’ve encountered a significant challenge: I have no idea how to access and manage the company website.

Though I have obtained some passwords and leads, my technical expertise is quite limited. The first step is to determine which platform the website operates on. I tried utilizing online tools designed to identify the content management system (CMS) in use, but unfortunately, these efforts yielded no results.

Upon visiting the website, I realized it’s quite unappealing, which leads me to believe it wasn’t built on popular platforms like WordPress or Wix. Instead, it seems to be custom-coded, likely using HTML that my predecessor had crafted himself.

While I do have a basic understanding of HTML, I’m at a loss when it comes to accessing the backend where I would make necessary edits. For instance, if it were a platform like Wix, I could simply log in to Wix.com with the credentials I’ve been provided. But I’m unsure where to utilize the login information for this particular site.

To move forward, I plan to take the following steps:

1. Inquire About Hosting: Determine who hosts the website and reach out to their support team for guidance on accessing the site.

2. Access the Server: If I can find the hosting provider, I may need to access the server through an FTP client to manage the files directly.

3. Consult Documentation: If there was any existing documentation on the website’s setup, it would be invaluable in guiding me through the editing process.

4. Seek Professional Help: As a backup plan, I may consider hiring a web developer to assist me in reorganizing and updating the site to something more user-friendly.

Though this new responsibility feels daunting, I’m committed to learning and navigating this unfamiliar territory. If you’ve been in a similar situation or have advice on managing website access, I’d love to hear your insights!