SME Problems · 10 November 2026 · Facts checked 10 November 2026 · By Khuzayfah Redo, SingRank

In short

Web agency not responding and hosting your site? Search your domain in WHOIS to see who holds it and which registrar manages it.
If your company is the registrant, go to the registrar directly for the transfer password.
If the agency holds the domain in its own name, keep your records and get legal advice before you act.

Your web agency is not responding, and your website is hosted with them. Silence does not prove bad faith, because people fall ill and small firms close. But your site still needs someone in charge. We sell SEO, so read this knowing that.

Look up your domain in WHOIS

A magnifying glass resting on a printed page of domain records on a Singapore office desk — One lookup tells you who can act.

Best for: owners unsure who holds the domain.

SGNIC says the holder of a .sg domain is listed as the registrant in WHOIS. Run a WHOIS search on your domain. Write down the registrant and the registrar, the firm that manages the domain.

Check: SGNIC guide and contact page, checked 10 November 2026.

Compare the name with your company

A company registration folder beside a printed domain record on a wooden table in Singapore — Is that name really yours?

Best for: domains someone else bought for you.

SGNIC warns that owning a company does not make you the holder of its domain. It advises putting the domain under your own name or the company's, rather than a hosting firm's.

It also warns that a domain held by someone who will not cooperate could harm both your website and how you operate. Its example is moving to "a new server". So whoever controls the domain controls whether your site can move.

Check: SGNIC guide, checked 10 November 2026.

Go to the registrar directly

A handwritten list of phone numbers and a pen on a Singapore shop counter — Skip the silent inbox.

Best for: domains in your company's name.

For changes to a domain, SGNIC sends you to your registrar. Its contact page lists no escalation route if a registrar does not act. Have company papers ready in case the registrar asks who you are.

Check: SGNIC contact page, checked 10 November 2026.

Ask for the transfer password

The registrant first gets a "domain transfer password" from the current registrar, then goes to the new registrar.

The current registrar may approve or reject the request. If it does neither, SGNIC approves the transfer after 7 days.

Using a .com? Check ICANN's rule

ICANN says a transfer must be started by the registrant or the domain's administrative contact. So the name in WHOIS matters here too.

List what the agency still holds

Write one line each for hosting, email, site files and every admin login: who pays, and who has access. We found no official route for getting hosting files back from a silent agency.

Start with the hosting company named on your invoices. Our guide to switching agency lists the accounts to keep.

Save what you can see today

Copy your page text and photos now. Keep invoices, emails and a dated note of each attempt to reach the agency. If pages disappear later, see website not showing on Google.

If the domain is in their name

SGNIC describes its dispute policy as "cheaper and quicker" than court. Complaints go to the policy's Secretariat. We cannot say whether your case fits.

What to do next

Send the agency one last written message, giving a date to reply by. This is not legal advice, so see a lawyer if a dispute is coming.

If the agency is still answering but not delivering, run a 30-day test. Or send us your website for a free review on WhatsApp. We reply within 1 working day, and our plan sets out what we promise.