You own your website when three things are in your name: the domain registration, the hosting account, and a complete copy of the code and content. If a developer or agency holds any of them, you depend on that company to keep your site online. Check each one now, while nothing is wrong.
Charme and Sons hired us to rebuild their website. The old one was a single page, and when we asked for its source files, nobody had them. The company had a website it could look at and could not change.
We rebuilt it from the outside in, working from the public pages and the company's own photos. That is a workable way to start. It is also a situation no business should be in. A website has three parts that can each be held by someone else, and most owners have never checked who holds theirs.
What does it mean to own a website?
Owning a website means you can move it, change it, or hand it to a new developer without anyone else's permission. In practice that requires three things under your control: the domain name, the hosting account, and the source code with all of its content.
Our rule for every project is short: your code, your domain, your accounts. We build in accounts that belong to the client or are transferred to them, and the client gets the source.
| What | Where it lives | How to check you hold it | If you do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain name | A domain registrar | You can log in, and the account email is yours | Someone else can let it lapse or point it elsewhere |
| Hosting | A hosting or deployment account | You are the account owner, not an invited user | The site can be switched off or held until you pay |
| Code and content | A repository, or a full export you keep | You can download everything today | A rebuild starts from the public pages |
Who should own the domain name?
The business should own the domain name, registered in an account that the owner logs in to with a company email address. The domain is the one part of a website that cannot be rebuilt. Lose it and you lose your address, your search history, and your email.
A domain is rented by the year from a registrar. Whoever controls the registrar account controls where the name points. If your developer registered it for you as a favor, in practice it is theirs until it is transferred.
To check, try these steps:
- Find out which registrar holds the domain. A public WHOIS lookup shows the registrar's name.
- Log in to that registrar. If you cannot, find out who can.
- Confirm the account email is one you control and will still control in five years.
- Turn on auto-renew and check the payment card.
- Turn on two-step sign-in for the account.
If the domain sits in someone else's account, ask for a transfer to your own. It is a routine request. How a domain is then pointed at a site is covered in how to point a domain to a new website.
Who should control the hosting account?
The business should be the owner of the hosting account, with the developer added as a team member. Hosting is where the site's files run. If the account belongs to your developer, the site's existence depends on their billing, their password, and their continued interest.
Many agencies host client sites in one shared account because it is convenient for them. It is not always a problem, but it means leaving requires their cooperation. Ask which arrangement you have.
Hosting is replaceable in a way the domain is not. If you hold the domain and a copy of the code, you can put the site on new hosting. That is why the three parts matter together.
Why do you need a copy of the source code?
You need a copy of the source code because the public pages are only the output. The source is what a developer edits to change the site: templates, data files, images at full size, and the build instructions. Without it, every change means reconstructing the site first.
For a WordPress site, "the source" is a full backup: the files and the database. For a static or custom site, it is a repository, a folder with the complete history of every change. We explain repositories in Git and version control for business owners.
Having the source is also what makes a clean move possible. When we moved Homes by Jan off WordPress to a static build, every page and article came across at its exact original address. That kind of move depends on being able to get at everything the old site contained.
How do you find out who owns your website right now?
Find out who owns your website by trying to log in to each part yourself. If you can sign in to the registrar, the hosting account, and wherever the code is stored, and your name is on each account as owner, you own the site.
Do this before you need to. The usual time people discover a problem is during a dispute or after a developer has stopped answering, which is the worst time to ask for a favor.
If you find a gap, ask plainly and without accusation. Most developers hold client accounts out of habit, not bad intent, and will transfer them when asked.
What should a contract say about ownership?
A website contract should say that, once paid for, the client owns the design, code, and content created for the project, that accounts will be in the client's name, and that the developer will hand over everything on request. Contract terms are a legal matter, so have your own attorney review them.
Three practical questions to ask before signing, which also appear in our list of questions to ask a web developer:
- Whose name will the domain and hosting be in?
- Will I get the source code, and in what form?
- If we part ways, what do I walk away with?
A developer who is confident in their work answers all three without hesitation.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my website if my developer disappears?
If the domain, hosting, and code are in your accounts, nothing happens. The site stays up and another developer can take over. If they are in the developer's accounts, the site runs until a bill goes unpaid, and recovering it can be slow.
Do I own my site if it is on a hosted website builder?
You own your domain, if you registered it yourself, and your text and photos. You do not usually get the design or code in a form that runs anywhere else. Leaving means rebuilding the site on another platform.
Can I move my website to a different developer?
Yes, if you hold the three parts. Give the new developer access to the hosting and the code, and keep the registrar login to yourself unless a DNS change is needed. A move is simple when ownership is clear.
Who owns the photos and text on my website?
Usually whoever created them, unless a contract says otherwise. Photos you took and text you wrote are yours. For stock images and work made by others, the license or agreement decides, so check the terms you agreed to.
Should my developer have my passwords?
No. Add the developer to each account as a separate user with their own login. That way you can remove access later without changing anything else.
If you are not sure what you hold, tell us your domain and we will help you work out who controls each part.