Oakpress Studio Who owns my website
Who owns my website?
You should own your domain, your website and your Google profile, but paying for a website doesn’t make that automatic. Here’s what to check, what UK law says, and what you get with me: everything in your name, from day one.
· by Jack Thomas
Who owns my website: me or my web designer?
It depends on three things, and they can belong to different people: the domain name (your web address), the website itself (the design, words, photos and code) and the hosting (where it runs). Paying for a website doesn’t automatically make all three yours.
- The domain belongs to whoever is named as the registrant. If your designer registered it in their own name, legally it’s theirs, even if you paid for it.
- The design and code: under UK copyright law, the person who creates a website owns the copyright unless it’s assigned to you in writing. Paying for it gives you a right to use it, not ownership.
- Hosting is a service you rent. What matters is whether you can take your site somewhere else.
What happens to my website if I stop paying my designer?
That comes down to what you signed. With some designers and website builders you never owned anything: stop paying and the site goes offline, and you can’t take it with you. That’s common with “free website” deals, monthly website plans and sites built on the designer’s own Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy account. Weighing up a builder yourself? See Wix or a web designer?
If you’re still deciding whether you need one, see do I need a website? Before you sign up anywhere, ask: whose name is the domain in, will I get the files, and what does it cost to leave?
How do I check who owns my domain?
For a .co.uk or .uk address, run a WHOIS lookup on Nominet’s website (Nominet runs the .uk register). It shows the registrar and, for businesses, usually the registrant. For a .com, use a WHOIS lookup from any registrar. If the name on it isn’t yours or your company’s, ask your designer to transfer it to you. It costs little or nothing, and a good designer won’t mind.
What you own when I build your website
I’m Jack, a web designer from Eston. With me, everything is yours from day one, in writing:
- Your domain is registered in your name, on your own account. I only ever have access you give me, and you can take it away.
- Your website: once the final 50% is paid, the copyright in the design, words and code is yours, and you can have the files whenever you ask.
- Your Google profile, Search Console and listings are in your name too. I’m added as a manager, never the owner.
- Leaving is free: Care (£40 a month for hosting, updates and edits) is month to month. If you go, I hand over the files and help point your domain at your new host.
Prices
A fast website you own outright, with the Google basics done.
A page for each service, bookings or enquiries, all in your name.
Hosting, updates and 30 minutes of edits. Leave whenever you like and take everything.
50% to start, 50% before launch. Google work is extra and optional: the Search Fix (£149) or Grow (£99 a month).
Who owns my website, me or the web designer?
Not always you. The domain belongs to whoever is named as the registrant, and under UK copyright law the designer owns the design and code unless they assign it to you in writing. Ask for the domain in your name and a written copyright assignment before you pay. With me you get both as standard.
Can my web designer keep my domain name?
If the domain is registered in their name, they control it, even if you paid. Most designers will transfer it when asked, and transferring a .co.uk domain costs little or nothing. To avoid the problem, make sure any new domain is registered in your own name, on an account you can log in to.
What happens to my website if I leave my web designer?
If you own the domain and have the files, you can move to any host and keep everything. If the site lives on your designer’s builder account, or you’re on a monthly website plan, you may have to start again. Ask what it costs to leave before you sign.
Do I own my website if I built it on Wix or Squarespace?
You own your words and photos and can connect your own domain, but the site itself only runs on their platform. If you stop paying, it goes offline and can’t easily move elsewhere. That’s fine for many small businesses, as long as you know it going in.
Do I own my Google Business Profile?
You should. Your Google Business Profile ought to be owned by your own Google account, with your designer or SEO person added as a manager. If someone else is the owner, ask them to transfer ownership to you, so your reviews and listing stay with your business.
Come in.
Send me your business name and town, and within one working day I’ll show you where you come up on Google, Google Maps and ChatGPT, plus the 3 fixes that would move you up. Free, with no obligation.