The short version
Ask your provider whose name your domain is registered in, who can log in to it, and what you'd receive if you left. If the domain isn't in your business's name, ask them to change it now.
If you've paid for a website for years, it's natural to assume it belongs to you. Sometimes it doesn't, or at least not all of it, and businesses often only find out when they want to change provider.
The three parts of a website
It's worth knowing who holds each one.
The domain name
Your address, such as yourbusiness.co.uk. It's registered through a company called a registrar, in someone's name.
The website itself
The design, the pages and the wording. Some providers build on their own system, so it can't easily come with you.
The hosting
Where the website lives, usually paid for monthly or yearly. It can move, but the domain and files need to move with it.
Ideally the domain is registered to your business, with the login held by you or someone you trust. If it's registered to a former web company, or to a member of staff who has since left, moving it can be slow.
Questions to ask your provider
- Whose name is our domain registered in, and with which registrar?
- Can we have our own login to the domain account?
- If we leave, what do we receive: the website files, a copy of the content, or nothing?
- Is there any cost or notice period for moving?
- Who else has access to our domain and hosting accounts?
Keep the answers, and the login details, somewhere safe that doesn't depend on one person's inbox.
If the domain isn't in your name
Ask your provider to change the registered owner to your business. Most will do this without any fuss. If they won't, or you can't reach them, the registrar for the domain can tell you what's possible.
What we do
With the websites we build at Midlands Code Lab, your domain is registered in your name, and your content stays yours.
Not sure who holds what for your website? Get in touch and we'll help you find out.
Get in touch