Who actually owns my website?

The four pieces

• The domain: owned by whoever it is registered to. This is the piece that matters most; lose it and you lose your address and email.
• The hosting: whoever holds the hosting account controls the live site. If that is your designer and you fall out, your site is in their hands.
• The design and code: legally, whoever the contract says. Many agencies retain ownership and effectively rent the site to you; others hand everything over. If nothing was written down, it is murky.
• The content: your words, your photos, your logo are generally yours. Stock images are licensed, not owned.

Questions worth asking today

• Is the domain registered in MY name, with MY email on the account?
• Can I get a copy of my website files if I ask?
• If we parted ways tomorrow, what exactly would I keep?

A trustworthy web person answers these happily and in writing. Discomfort with the question is itself an answer.

Where I stand, for the record

Domains I register for clients go in the client’s name. If you ever leave, you take your domain and your content with you, and I will help you move. That should not be a selling point, but in this industry it sometimes is.