Do I Own My Website? Domains, Hosting and Code Explained for Business Owners
By Alexey Chasin · Updated October 16, 2026 · 6 min read
A website is five things: the domain registration, the hosting, the source code, the content and images, and the Google Business Profile. Three of them should be in your name whatever the arrangement: the domain, your content and the Business Profile, plus the leads the site brings. Hosting and code are either sold to you or licensed as part of a managed service, and the contract should say which. Many small businesses own the content and nothing else. Check each one today; the fixes are usually quick.
The five things that make up a website
1. The domain
Your address, like yourbusiness.com. It is registered at a registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains successor Squarespace Domains, Cloudflare). If the registration is in a developer's or agency's name, they own your address and can hold it. Check with a WHOIS lookup or by asking who has the registrar login.
2. The hosting
Where the files live. On a builder (Wix, Squarespace), the platform is the host and you cannot take the site elsewhere. On WordPress, it is a hosting account that should be in your name. On a custom site, it is an account on Vercel, Netlify or similar, either yours or run for you by the developer as part of a managed service.
3. The code
The files that make the site. A custom site is either delivered to you as a repository or licensed to you while a managed service runs it; both are fair if the contract says which. WordPress sites are exportable. Builder sites are not: you can export text and images, not the site.
4. The content
Text, photos, logo. Usually yours, unless a contract says otherwise or the photos are stock licensed to the developer. Keep originals.
5. The Google Business Profile
Often claimed by a marketing company and never transferred. Check who is the primary owner at business.google.com. It should be you.
How to check, in ten minutes
| Asset | How to check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | WHOIS lookup; who has the registrar login | Transfer registration to an account in your name |
| Hosting | Who receives the hosting bill | Move to an account you own, or have it transferred |
| Code | Ask whether it is sold or licensed | Get the answer in writing |
| Content | Do you have the original files? | Collect them now |
| Business Profile | Owners list in business.google.com | Make yourself primary owner; remove old agencies |
The ownership clause to put in every contract
'The domain is registered in the client's name from the start of the project. The content the client supplies and the client's lead data belong to the client and can be exported at any time. The contract states whether the code and design are transferred or licensed, and what happens to them when the agreement ends.' If a developer will not put that in writing, keep looking.
Lead-gen and rented websites
Some companies build contractors and practices a site for free or cheap, register the domain in their own name, route calls through a number they keep, and hold the leads if you leave. Read the contract. If the domain and the leads are not yours, you are renting your own customers. Ours is a managed service too, which is why the line is drawn in writing: the domain, your content and every lead are yours; the code and the pages we write are ours, licensed to you while you are with us.
Every site we build puts the domain in your name from day one, in writing, and every lead is yours to export. We run the platform that brings the leads; the terms say exactly what is yours and what is licensed.