Website ownership checklist

You really own your website when the domain is registered to your business, the hosting account is in your name, you have admin logins to everything, you can get a copy of the code and content, and your analytics and ad accounts belong to you. If any of those sits in a designer's or agency's account, you own the site only as long as that relationship stays friendly.

This website ownership checklist takes about 15 minutes. Go through it before you need it: the worst time to discover you do not control your domain is the day your designer stops replying.

Why ownership problems are so common

Ownership problems rarely come from bad intentions. A designer registers the domain "to save you the hassle". An agency creates the Google Ads account under its own manager login because it is faster. A freelancer hosts the site on their server as part of a package. Years pass, the relationship ends, and suddenly the business needs permission to change its own phone number on its own website.

The 12-point checklist

Domain

1. The registrant is your business. Log in to your registrar and check the registrant name and organization. It should be your business, not your designer.

2. You have your own login to the registrar account, not a shared password from someone else.

3. Contact email and renewal are yours. Renewal notices go to an address you read, auto-renew is on and the payment card is current.

Hosting

4. The hosting account is in your name, paid by your business, with your own login. If your site is hosted on a designer's server, ask whether you can move it, and how.

5. You know where backups are and who can restore them.

Code and content

6. You can get a copy of the code and content. For a hand-coded or custom CMS site, ask for the code repository or an archive. For WordPress, a full backup of files and database. For builder sites, know that only the content can be exported, not the site itself.

7. Your contract says you own it. The agreement should state that the code, design and content created for you belong to you once paid, or at least that you have a license to use and modify them. Third-party parts, like fonts, photos or plugins, have their own licenses; know what they are.

8. You have an admin account on the website itself, not just an editor role.

Data and marketing accounts

9. Google Analytics and Tag Manager are yours. You should be an administrator on the account, not just a viewer added by the agency.

10. Google Search Console is verified for your business, with you as an owner.

11. Ad accounts are yours. Google Ads and Meta ad accounts should be created under your business, with your payment method, and your agency added as a user or partner. If you leave the agency, the campaign history and data stay with you.

12. Your Google Business Profile has you as the primary owner. Agencies can be managers. Your reviews and listing history belong with your business.

Quick reference

Asset	What "owned" looks like	Red flag
Domain	Registered to your business, your login	Registered to designer or agency
Hosting	Your account, your billing	Only on the designer's server
Code and content	You can get a full copy	"It's proprietary"
Analytics	You are administrator	You have no access or view only
Ad accounts	Your business, your card	Created inside agency account
Google Business Profile	You are primary owner	Agency is the only owner

How to recover access you have lost

Start polite and in writing. Ask your former designer or agency to transfer ownership or add you as an administrator, with a clear list of what you need. Most will cooperate.

If they do not:

• Domain: registrars have processes for proving you are the rightful registrant, using business documents and payment records. It can be slow, so start early.
• Google Business Profile: Google offers an ownership request process for listings.
• Analytics and ads: if you cannot recover them, create new accounts in your name and start fresh. You lose history, not the future.
• Website code: if you cannot get it, rebuilding on a platform you control may be faster than a dispute. If your contract says you own it, talk to an attorney.

Keep records of what you paid for and when. They matter in any dispute.

How I set things up

Everything I build is registered in the client's name from day one: domain, hosting, website code, analytics, Search Console and ad accounts. I get access as a user to do the work. If we stop working together, nothing needs to be transferred, because nothing was ever mine. The written agreement says so, alongside the deadlines and payment stages.

This matters especially when hiring someone abroad, which is what I am for US clients: you should be able to change providers without asking anyone for permission. Read more in how I work, or see the web design overview for what a project includes. If your site is in someone else's account and you want to move, website migration covers moving it while keeping your domain and rankings, and domain and hosting basics explains the pieces in plain language.

Questions to ask before you hire anyone new

Ownership is easiest to protect at the start. Before you sign with a designer, agency or freelancer, ask: whose name will the domain and hosting be in, will I be an administrator on analytics and ad accounts, will I receive the code or a full backup, and what happens to everything if we stop working together? Clear answers belong in the written agreement. My list of questions to ask a web designer covers these and more.

Keep a one-page access sheet

Create a simple document listing every account: registrar, hosting, website admin, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, email service, CRM. For each, note the login email, who has access and when you last checked. Store it in your password manager or a safe place. Review it once a year and whenever someone leaves your business or a vendor relationship ends.