Many small business owners discover too late that they don't actually own their website. They own a subscription to it. Here's how website ownership works, in plain English, and how to protect yourself.
The three parts of a website
Every website is made of three separate things, and each can be owned by a different person:
- The domain name. Your address on the internet, like yourbusiness.com.
- The hosting. The computer (server) where your website files live, so people can visit them.
- The website itself. The design, pages, words and images.
Owning one doesn't mean you own the others.
The domain: the most important part
Your domain is your online identity. It's on your business cards, your truck, your email address and every link to your business.
Make sure it's registered in your name, under an account you can log into. If a designer or company registers it in their name, they control it. If the relationship ends badly, you could lose your web address and your email with it.
How to check: look up your domain on a "WHOIS" lookup site, or ask your designer which registrar it's with (for example GoDaddy, Namecheap or Squarespace Domains) and whose account it's in. You should have the login.
Hosting: renting space
Hosting is almost always rented, and that's normal. You pay a hosting company monthly or yearly to keep your site online. What matters is that:
- You know who the hosting company is.
- You can get access if your designer disappears.
- Your site files can be moved to another host if needed.
The website: built for you, or rented to you?
This is where it gets tricky.
- On many monthly website plans, the company owns the design and the system it's built on. You're paying for access. Stop paying, and the site comes down.
- On many website builders (like Wix or Squarespace), you own your content, but the site only runs on that platform. You can't easily move it elsewhere.
- With a one-time build, you usually own the finished site and can move it to any host.
None of these is automatically wrong. The problem is not knowing which one you have.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Whose name will the domain be registered in?
- Will I have the login for the domain and hosting?
- If I stop working with you, can I take my website files?
- If I cancel a monthly plan, what happens to my site?
- Who owns the photos and written content you create for me?
Get the answers in writing.
If you're already stuck
If you don't control your domain today:
- Ask your current provider, in writing, to transfer the domain to an account in your name.
- Most registrars let the current owner move a domain to another account in a few steps.
- If they refuse, check your contract, and consider talking to an attorney if the domain is critical to your business.
The simple rule
Rent your hosting if you like. Rent your design if the terms are clear. But always, always own your domain.