Map four separate kinds of control
Domain registration, DNS management, hosting billing and application administration may belong to different accounts or people. Draw those relationships explicitly. A WordPress administrator can edit a website without owning its domain, while a billing contact may not have application access. The diagram on this page is an original planning model, not a screenshot of Cloudways. Its purpose is to expose dependencies before a handoff makes them urgent.
Distinguish owner access from delegated access
Cloudways team permissions allow work to be delegated, but a collaborator is not automatically the commercial owner. Other providers use their own client, collaborator and transfer models. Record the actual role and the operation it permits instead of writing a vague label such as full access. Never put credentials into the ownership map; keep a reference to the responsible person and the supported recovery or invitation process.
Work through a client change
Suppose a fictional client moves from one agency to another while keeping the same host. The client needs continuity of the domain, email and application, not simply a new developer login. Check who can invite the replacement operator, approve billing changes and authorize a restore. If one server hosts several clients, a whole-server transfer may be the wrong operation. The map should reveal that before anyone initiates it.
Verify the map with a bounded handoff
Confirm that each named owner can reach the controls they are supposed to own, without exposing secrets or changing settings merely as a test. Record any unresolved access dependency honestly. A completed diagram is not proof that account recovery works or that an application transfer has succeeded. Use the map alongside the client-handoff and exit checklists so the documentation reflects actual supported access rather than optimistic assumptions.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- Cloudways collaboration and separate application credentials — Merchant documentation · support.cloudways.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21
- Cloudways server transfers: owner and paid-account requirements — Merchant documentation · support.cloudways.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-21
- Kinsta transfer workflow and plan-cancellation distinction — Alternative provider · kinsta.com · Publisher independence not verified · checked 2026-09-21