Do You Actually Own Your Website and Domain Name?

You need more than an invoice to stay in control of your website. Check who is recorded as the domain registrant, who can access the key accounts, what rights you have to the content and what happens if you change suppliers. These are separate questions, and a “yes” to one does not settle the others.

We build websites, so we look at ownership as a practical question as well as a contractual one: could the business keep operating if a different person had to take over tomorrow? That is the standard we recommend using for your accounts, access and handover arrangements.

This is a practical access and handover guide for UK business owners. If there is a dispute over a contract or intellectual property, get advice on the actual documents rather than relying on a general article.

Start with the domain name

Your domain is the address people use to reach your website and often your email. The registrar is the organisation through which the registration is managed. The registrant is the person or organisation recorded as holding that registration.

Use Nominet’s domain lookup to identify available registration information, then check the registrar account itself. Public lookup records may not show all registrant details. Nominet explains that registrant names and addresses are not normally displayed publicly without permission, so an absent name in a lookup is not proof of a problem.

Confirm that the registrant details reflect the appropriate business or individual, the renewal method works and recovery messages reach an address you control. Domain registration is renewable: paying once does not mean the address is yours forever.

Make sure access survives a change of supplier

A supplier may manage the account day to day, but your business should have an agreed route to recover control. Avoid relying entirely on one person’s personal email address or phone. Use individual logins and multi-factor authentication where supported, and store recovery information securely.

Consider a hypothetical retailer whose developer registered the domain years ago. The invoices have all been paid, but renewal notices now go to an abandoned mailbox. The immediate job is to establish the account and registrant position with the registrar—not to change nameservers at random.

Separate domain, hosting, email and website access

These services may be bundled on one bill but managed in different places. A WordPress administrator login does not necessarily give access to the hosting account, backups or domain settings.

• Domain account: registration, renewal and transfer arrangements.
• DNS: the records directing web, email and other services.
• Hosting: the server or platform where the site runs.
• Website editor: the account used to change pages, products and settings.
• Email: mailboxes, billing, recovery and administrator access.
• Other services: analytics, advertising, bookings and payment accounts.

Map those responsibilities before moving anything. A careless DNS change can affect services beyond the website. Ask the person handling a migration to explain how email and other existing records will be preserved.

Check what you own and what you license

Website content can include commissioned copy, photographs, code, fonts, plugins and third-party designs. Their rights need not all belong to the same person. The UK government’s copyright guidance is a useful starting point; your contract and licences determine what you may use, transfer or modify in a particular project.

Ask whether the fee transfers rights in bespoke work or grants permission to use it. Check whether stock images, fonts and paid plugins remain licensed if you leave the supplier. Do not assume that paying for a finished website automatically transfers every underlying right.

Find out what can actually move

“You own the content” does not necessarily mean the entire website can move unchanged. Hosted platforms may restrict export of layouts or features. A website built on software installed in your own hosting has different migration possibilities, but custom integrations and licences still need checking.

Request a plain-English exit description: what files and data you receive, what format they use, who handles the transfer, what it costs and what will need rebuilding. Also establish how quickly a handover can happen after notice.

Keep a useful ownership register

Create a private register with one row per service. Record the supplier, account owner, billing owner, renewal date, recovery route and person responsible. Store passwords in an appropriate password manager, not in this general register or an email thread.

1. Verify that authorised people can log in to the critical accounts.
2. Record the domain registrant and renewal arrangements.
3. Confirm who holds website and content rights in writing.
4. List licences that depend on your supplier’s subscription.
5. Check what backups exist and who can restore them.
6. Write down the agreed handover and cancellation process.

Backups should be usable, not merely present. Ask what a backup contains and when a restoration was last tested. The NCSC’s backup guidance explains the basic purpose and available approaches.

Ask for clarity before there is a problem

Send your supplier a calm request for the account map and exit arrangements. Good working relationships make this easier, and documenting it protects both parties. If you are commissioning a new site, include these requirements in your website brief and ask the questions in our supplier selection guide before signing.