Site Tip · Owning & protecting your site

Who really owns your website?

If your web designer stopped answering emails tomorrow, could you still log in to your own site? Plenty of owners cannot, and they only find out when something breaks or they want to switch designers. A few minutes of checking now can save you weeks of headaches later.

Your website is three separate pieces

People say "my website" as if it is one thing. It is really three, and each can have a different owner.

The domain name is your address on the internet, like yourbusiness.com. Hosting is the computer that stores your site and serves it to visitors. The site files are the pages, photos and text that make up what people see.

• Domain: the address people type in
• Hosting: where the site lives
• Site files: the pages, images and content

Why the domain matters most

Your domain is the piece you can least afford to lose. Your email addresses, your Google listing and your printed materials all point to it.

Here is the common problem. A designer buys the domain as a favor or to make setup easy, and registers it under their own name and email. It works fine for years. Then the relationship ends, and you have no way to prove the domain is yours or to move it.

Domains are registered through a company called a registrar. The account holder, called the registrant, is the legal owner on record.

How to check, step by step

Start by asking your designer one plain question: "Which account is my domain registered in, and can you add me?" A good designer answers this easily.

You can also look up public registration records for your domain. Some owners use privacy settings that hide names, so that lookup may not tell you everything. The login itself is the best proof.

• Ask which registrar holds your domain and whose email is on the account.
• Log in yourself. If you cannot, ask for access or a transfer into an account in your name.
• Check that your own email, not your designer's, is the contact for renewal notices.
• Turn on automatic renewal and make sure a current payment card is on file.
• Ask for hosting access and a full copy of your site files too.

Keep your logins safe

Write down where each account lives: registrar, hosting, and your site's admin area. Store them in a password manager or another secure place, and tell one trusted person where they are.

Common mistakes include using a former employee's email on the account and letting a renewal card expire. Either one can take your site offline.

If you would like a hand sorting this out, Modestius builds and fixes websites for small businesses, and ownership checks are part of that.

Questions owners ask

Is it wrong for my designer to register my domain?

Not necessarily, but the registration should be in your name, or you should have full access. If it is in theirs, ask them to transfer it to you.

What happens if my domain expires?

Your website and any email using that domain can stop working. Some registrars hold an expired domain for a short time, but do not count on it.

Do I need to own the hosting too?

It helps. At minimum you should be able to log in or request a backup of your site files so you can move if you need to.