Continuity

A website handoff checklist for the next clerk or officer

A practical checklist for transferring website responsibility without transferring a shared login or losing the instructions behind recurring work.

By GroupHarbor · Published October 31, 2026

A useful handoff gives the next person three things: their own access, a clear picture of unfinished work, and instructions they can actually follow. Start with the tasks the new person will perform in the first week. A long folder of historical files can be helpful, but it is not a substitute for those essentials.

Start with named access

List the systems the role uses, who administers them, and how an authorized person receives access. Include the website, domain provider, email service, and any external payment or event tools that matter to the work.

Invite the incoming person to an individual account. Review the permissions they need rather than copying every permission the outgoing person happens to have. Test the new account before removing the old person’s access. Do not put passwords or recovery codes in the handoff document.

Show the current work

Identify upcoming meetings, scheduled notices, drafts, pages awaiting review, and promises already made to residents or members. For each item, record who is responsible, the next action, and where the current version lives.

Make the status explicit. A draft awaiting approval is different from an approved document waiting to be published. A cancelled event should not look like one that simply needs a new date.

Write down three recurring tasks

Choose three jobs that the incoming person is likely to repeat soon. Examples might be updating meeting information, preparing an event announcement, or changing office hours.

For each one, record when the task occurs, where it starts, the steps, any required review, and how to confirm the result. Add a screenshot only where it helps. Link to the current template or source document rather than making another unmanaged copy.

Separate current information from history

Confirm the public officeholder listing, contact information, hours, and ownership of recurring tasks. Updating the current contact should not make the incoming person appear to have performed the outgoing person’s past actions.

Keep approved records and historical attribution intact under the institution’s applicable policy. A change in staff is a reason to review access, not to casually erase the record of prior work.

Let the incoming person complete a task

Have the incoming person follow one procedure using their own account. Ask them to find the right material, make a safe draft change, and inspect the intended result. Note where they need clarification and improve the instructions while the questions are fresh.

The purpose is not to test their competence. It is to test whether the handoff is usable without the outgoing person supplying missing steps from memory.

Close the handoff deliberately

Confirm that the new person can work, update the responsible contacts, and remove access the outgoing person no longer needs. Record who approved the change and when it took effect. Identify an institutional recovery route for future loss of administrative access.

Treat this checklist as an operational starting point, not a substitute for your institution’s governance, employment, records, or purchasing requirements.

GroupHarbor is being built around named access, practical procedures, and clearer responsibility. Explore the examples to see the intended experience.