Who Owns Your Website? Domain, Hosting and Content Ownership Explained

A website is six things, not one

When people say "my website", they usually mean several separate things. Each one can sit with a different person. Here's who should hold each part, and the warning signs to look for.

The rest of this guide goes through each row, in plain English.

Your domain: registrant, registrar and account holder

Three roles decide who controls your domain:

• The registrar is the company that sells and manages domain names.
• The registrant is the legal holder of the domain. ICANN, which sets the rules for .com and other generic domains, calls this person the "Registered Name Holder" [1].
• The account holder is whoever logs in to the registrar account where the domain is managed.

These can be three different people. A common set-up: your designer buys the domain in their own account and lists themselves as the registrant, "to save you the hassle". It works fine until the day you want to leave.

ICANN's own guidance is clear. When a business lets someone else manage its domains, it should ideally still be listed as the registrant, and listing a third party is generally not considered good practice [3].

Here's why it matters. The transfer rules protect the registrant. If the registrant is your web designer, the rules protect them, not you.

How to check yours: public lookups often hide the holder's details for privacy. So log in to the registrar account, or ask your designer for a screenshot of the registrant details. You're looking for your business name and an email address you control.

Moving a .com or other generic domain

Under ICANN's Transfer Policy [1][2]:

• You need an auth code (also called a transfer code or EPP code) from the current registrar, and the domain must be unlocked.
• The registrar must give you the code within 5 calendar days of your request.
• A registrar can refuse a transfer within 60 days of the domain being registered or last transferred.
• Changing the registrant's name, organisation or email can start a 60-day lock on moving to another registrar, unless you opted out before the change [1][2].

If you need to change both the owner and the registrar, ask the new registrar which order to do it in, so you don't get stuck in a lock.

Moving a .uk domain

.uk domains are run by Nominet, which has its own process. As the registrant, you can set up a Nominet Online Services account using the email address on the registration. From there, you can move the domain to a new registrar or transfer it to a new registrant [5].

Nominet suggests asking your current registrar first. If they can't make the move, you can switch registrar through Online Services for £10 plus VAT [4].

If there's a dispute over a .uk name, Nominet runs a Dispute Resolution Service [6]. It's there for a reason, but getting the registrant right on day one is far easier.

Hosting: you rent it, so plan your exit

Hosting is the computer your website runs on. Almost nobody owns their hosting. You rent it, monthly or yearly, and that's fine.

What you need to own is the ability to leave. That comes down to two things:

• Your files. Can you get a complete copy of your site, in a form another host can run? A simple static site (plain web pages, styles and images) can run almost anywhere. A site built inside a closed platform may only work on that platform.
• Your domain settings. Whoever controls the domain decides where it points. If you hold the domain, you can point it at a new host whenever you like.

Copyright: paying isn't the same as owning

This is the part that catches people out, and it's easy to see why. It feels obvious that if you paid for it, it's yours. In UK law, it isn't that simple.

The author of a work is the first owner of its copyright [7]. The exception is work made by an employee as part of their job, which belongs to the employer [7]. A freelancer or an agency isn't your employee. So unless your contract says otherwise, the copyright in the design, code and words they create for you starts with them, and stays with them after you've paid.

To move it to you, the law needs an assignment. Section 90(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says an assignment is "not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor" [8]. The assignor is your designer or agency.

What counts: a clause in a signed contract, or a separate signed document, that assigns the copyright to you. An electronic signature can count, as long as the person signing means to authenticate the document [9].

What doesn't count on its own: an invoice marked "paid", a promise on the phone, or a "you own your site" line on a provider's website.

A quick example

Say you run a roofing firm. A freelancer designs your website and writes the text. You pay the invoice in full. Two years later, you want another designer to update it.

If your contract included a signed assignment, the design and text are yours, and the new designer can work on them. If it didn't, you will usually still be allowed to use the site you paid for. But the limits of that permission are unclear. Can you change it? Copy it for a second branch? Move it to another host? That grey area is exactly where arguments start.

Designers also have "moral rights", such as the right to object to changes that damage their work. They can only give these up in signed writing [10]. A good contract includes that waiver, so you can change your site freely.

What you won't own, even after paying

• Fonts, stock photos, icons, themes and plugins. These are licensed, not owned. You get permission to use them on their terms. Ask for a list of every licence, and for any paid licence to be in your name or transferable.
• Your designer's reusable toolkit. Many designers reuse their own starter templates and building blocks. Fair practice is that they keep them, and you get a permanent licence to use them as part of your site, wherever it's hosted.
• The hosting. You rent it. That's fine, as long as you have your files and control of your domain.

Renting a website: the lock-in traps to look for

Renting isn't wrong. Some owners prefer no upfront cost and a monthly fee, the way they might lease a van. Problems start when the terms only become clear after you've signed. For the costs side, see pay-monthly websites explained.

These are the patterns to look for in any contract:

1. The domain is in the provider's name. You leave, they keep your web address, and your email on that domain can go with it.
2. The site goes offline when you stop paying. It can happen with deals where you rent the whole site rather than buy it.
3. A buy-out fee to keep it. Fair if it's written down before you sign. A nasty surprise if you only find out at the end.
4. The provider keeps the design and code. Some contracts say so openly. Others say nothing, which under UK law leaves the copyright with the author.
5. No working export. Some hosted website builders and closed platforms let you take your words and photos, but not a working copy of the site. Search their help pages for "export" before you start.
6. Long minimum terms with an exit bill. For example, 12 or 24 months, with the rest due if you leave early.
7. Accounts in their name. Your Google Business Profile, analytics or email set up under the provider's login.

On that last point, a Google Business Profile can have several owners but only one primary owner [11]. Managers can do almost everything, but they can't add or remove users or delete the profile [11]. You should be the primary owner. Your designer can be a manager.

10 questions to ask any web designer

Ask these before you sign, and get the answers in writing. A good provider will be glad you asked.

1. Whose name will the domain be registered in? Good answer: your business's name, with your email address as the registrant contact.
2. Can I get the transfer code whenever I ask? Good answer: yes, within a stated number of days.
3. Who owns the design, code and words once I've paid? Good answer: you, through a signed assignment in the contract.
4. When exactly does ownership pass to me? Good answer: a clear trigger, such as payment in full.
5. Which parts are licensed rather than owned? Good answer: a list of fonts, images, themes and plugins, with their licences.
6. What happens if I stop paying for hosting or care? Good answer: the site stays live until the end of the period you've paid for, and you get your files.
7. Can I take a working copy of my site if I leave? Good answer: yes, in a format another host can run, within a set number of days, with any cost stated upfront.
8. Is there a minimum term or an exit fee? Good answer: both are written down before you sign.
9. Who will be the primary owner of my Google Business Profile and analytics? Good answer: you. They can be a manager.
10. What happens to my site if your business closes? Good answer: a written promise to hand everything over.

If a provider won't answer a question in writing, treat that as your answer.

How Northpin handles ownership

We think you should be able to leave us easily. That's why we put it in writing:

• Your domain is in your name from day one, with us listed as the technical contact. We renew it while your care plan is active. Ask for your transfer code at any time, and you'll get it within 5 working days.
• The design, code and words we make for you become yours once the build is paid in full. Our order form includes a signed copyright assignment that takes effect on full payment. On the no-build-fee route, it's once you've made all 12 monthly payments.
• Our reusable building blocks stay ours, and you get a permanent licence to use them anywhere, at no cost.
• Fonts and stock images keep their own licences. We list every one for you.
• Leaving is simple. After the first 3 months, you can cancel your care plan with 30 days' notice and no exit fee. You get a full export of your site's files, the licence list and your domain transfer code at no charge, within 5 working days of paying any undisputed amounts due. Your site stays online until the end of the period you've paid for.
• If we ever stop trading, we'll hand everything above to every active client.

You can read all of this in our contract in plain English, before you speak to us, and see what each plan costs on our pricing page.

Whoever you choose, run through the 10 questions above first. And if you'd like to see what we'd build before you decide anything, get a free homepage preview within 2 working days. No card, no obligation.