Website ownership has three parts: the domain, the hosting account and the site’s files and content. A business should hold all three in its own name, with the developer given access to work rather than ownership of the asset.
Three separate things
"Owning your website" is not one thing. It is the domain name, which is your address; the hosting account, where the site lives; and the website itself — the design, code, images and content. It is entirely possible to pay for a website and end up owning none of them, and businesses discover this only when they try to leave a provider.
The domain
Registered at a registrar, in an account. If that account is yours, the domain is yours. If it is the developer's, you are renting your own address. Ask who the registrant is and confirm you can log in. Our guide to domains and hosting covers the mechanics.
The hosting
The same logic. Hosting on your account means the site continues whatever happens to the developer. Hosting on theirs means your site depends on their business, their invoices and their goodwill. Developers need access to deploy and maintain; they do not need to own the account to do it.
The files and content
The code, design files, images and copy that make up the site should be delivered to you at handover, in formats you or a future developer can use. Content you wrote is yours. Photography you commissioned is yours subject to the photographer's terms. Design and code produced for you should be yours to keep, move or extend once paid for. Confirm this in writing before the project starts.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Whose name will the domain be registered in?
- Whose account will the hosting be on, and can I log in?
- Will I receive the site files and design assets at handover?
- If I leave, what do I take with me and what does it cost?
- Is any part of the site on a proprietary platform I cannot export from?
- Who holds the passwords, and will they be handed over?
Clear answers are a good sign. Vague ones are the reason to ask.
Platforms and lock-in
Some website builders and ecommerce platforms are genuinely convenient and also genuinely hard to leave: the site cannot be exported in a usable form, so moving means rebuilding. That can still be the right choice for a business that values the convenience, but it should be a choice made knowingly. Our guide to choosing an ecommerce platform covers where that trade-off sits.
What to keep on file
Ownership is only useful if you can prove and exercise it, so keep a short record in a place the business controls, not in one person’s inbox.
- Domain: the registrar, the account login held by the business, the renewal date and the payment method attached to it.
- Hosting: the provider, the account login, the plan, and how backups are taken and where they are stored.
- Files: a current copy of the site’s code and content, refreshed after any significant update, plus the source files for the logo and key graphics.
- Accounts around the site: analytics, search console, payment provider, booking system, email service. Each should have a business-owned owner account with the developer added as a user.
- Written agreements: the contract or emails confirming who owns what and what happens at the end of the relationship.
If any of these are missing today, ask for them now rather than at the point you need them. A developer working in good faith will hand them over without difficulty.
How we work
We recommend that domain and hosting sit in your own accounts, we deliver the site files and design assets at handover, and we hand over every access detail. Our ownership commitment says so on the service page. If a future contract sets out something different, the contract governs — but our default is that the website is yours. Start through the enquiry form.
Frequently asked questions
Do I automatically own my website when I pay for it?
Not necessarily. Ownership has three parts: the domain, the hosting account and the site files. Each can end up in a developer’s name unless it is agreed otherwise. Confirm all three in writing before the project starts.
What should I receive at handover?
The site files, design assets and content in usable formats, plus every access detail: domain registrar, hosting, email and any platform accounts. A future developer should be able to continue from what you hold.
What if my developer registered the domain in their name?
Ask them to transfer it to an account in your name. Registrars have a transfer process for this. Until it is done, you do not own your own address, and a lapsed relationship can mean a lapsed domain.
Is using a website builder platform a problem for ownership?
It can be. Some platforms cannot export a site in a usable form, so leaving means rebuilding. That may still be the right trade for a business that values the convenience, but it should be chosen knowingly rather than discovered later.
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