What 'your website' is actually made of
When people ask whether they own their website, they usually mean one of four things. The domain name, like yourbusiness.co.uk. The content, meaning your words, photos and logo. The design and the files that make the site work. And the right to leave and take it all with you.
A provider can be generous on one of these and strict on another. Plenty of firms register the domain in your name but keep the design. Some let you take the files but charge a fee to release them. So the useful question isn't 'do I own it?' but 'what do I own, from when and what does it cost to leave?'
The domain: check who the registrant is
The domain matters most. Your van, your invoices, your business cards and your Google listing all point to it. If you lose the domain, you lose every link and every bit of history that goes with it.
The legal owner of a domain is called the registrant. The company that manages it is the registrar, or a reseller working through one. You want your own name or your business name as the registrant. It's fine for your web provider to manage the domain day to day, as long as it's registered to you.
To check a .uk or .co.uk domain, use Nominet's lookup. Nominet runs the .uk register. Its lookup shows when the domain was registered, its current status and which registrar or reseller manages it. Nominet says its old WHOIS service is being phased out and points people to RDAP lookups instead. The simplest one to use is ICANN Lookup at lookup.icann.org, which works for .uk domains too.
There's a catch. For privacy, the .uk lookup only shows the registrant's details if the registrant has opted in. So if your name doesn't appear, that doesn't mean the domain isn't yours. Ask your provider to confirm in writing that you are the registrant. For a .com domain, ICANN's lookup tool shows the registrar in the same way, though the owner's details are often hidden too.
- Search your domain on Nominet's RDAP lookup for a .uk domain, or ICANN's lookup for a .com.
- Note the registrar or reseller shown. Is it your web provider, or a company you've never heard of?
- Ask your provider for written confirmation that you are the registrant.
- Ask what happens to the domain if you miss a payment or if you leave.
Your content: words, photos and logo
Photos you took and words you wrote are yours. A decent provider won't argue about that. It gets murkier with anything they made or bought for you: a logo they designed, words they wrote, photos they took or licensed.
Stock photos are a common trap. If a provider used licensed stock images on your site, the licence may be in their name, not yours. Take the site elsewhere and you might have to replace those pictures. Ask which images are yours to keep.
Under our terms, the words, photos and logo you send us stay yours. We write the words for your site as part of every plan, from what you tell us. They're part of the website that becomes yours to keep.
Design copyright and the files
This is the part most people don't know about. The UK government's guidance on copyright says that when you commission someone to create a work, the person who created it is normally the first owner of the copyright, not the person who paid. That only changes if you agree otherwise in writing.
So paying for a website doesn't on its own make the design yours. It comes down to the contract. Look for a line that says when the website becomes yours, or that you'll get the files, or a licence to keep using them.
Files matter as much as copyright. Some pay monthly sites are built on a system the provider owns or licenses. Even if they're happy for you to leave, there may be nothing you can actually take, because the design only works inside their system. Ask in plain terms: if I leave, what do I get and can another company host it?
Minimum terms and exit fees
A minimum term isn't a con in itself. Building a site takes real time up front, so a low setup fee usually means the cost is spread over the first months. What you want is a term with a clear end date and a clean way out after it.
The things to watch for are the ones you only find out about later. Contracts that renew for another full year unless you cancel in a short window. A release fee or buy-out fee to get your files or your domain. A domain registered in the provider's name, so you have to ask permission to move it. Price rises with no limit or notice.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask these of any provider, including us. Get the answers in writing.
- How long is the minimum term and when exactly does it start?
- What happens when it ends: rolling monthly, or another fixed term?
- How much notice do I need to give?
- Is there any fee to leave, to get my files or to move my domain?
- Is the domain registered in my name today?
- What do I get when I leave: files I can host elsewhere, or nothing?
- Can the price go up and how much notice will I get?
How our terms work
Here's our setup in plain words, including the part that isn't in your favour.
Our monthly plans are £39, £69 or £99 a month, plus a £199 setup fee. There's a 12-month minimum term from the day your site goes live. After that it rolls monthly and you can cancel any time with 30 days' notice.
Your domain is registered in your name from day one. A standard .co.uk, .uk or .com domain costing up to £20 a year is included. If you leave, it goes with you and we'll help you move it.
Within your first 12 months, the website itself stays with us. The £199 setup fee doesn't cover the cost of designing and building your site. The first year of monthly payments does. That's why the site only becomes yours to keep once the minimum term is complete and your account is paid up.
After your first 12 months, if you don't want to carry on, give us 30 days' notice and we'll give you your website files to host elsewhere. There's no exit fee.
| Situation | The website | Your domain |
|---|---|---|
| Months 1 to 12, paid up | Stays with us. You're committed to the 12 months. | Registered in your name |
| After 12 months, you give 30 days' notice | We give you the files to host elsewhere. No exit fee. | Goes with you. We help you move it. |
| A payment is missed | We give you 7 days to sort it. After that the site may go offline until you're up to date. Nothing is deleted. | Stays in your name |
| Unpaid for 60 days, in the first 12 months | We close the account. The website stays with us. | Stays yours |
| Unpaid for 60 days, after the first 12 months | We close the account and send you your website files. | Stays yours |
| One-off site, from £695 | Paid in full before it goes live. Then £20 a month for hosting, cancel with 30 days' notice. If you'd rather host it yourself, we hand the site over. | Registered in your name |
From our terms. Read the full terms before you order.
If you want to own it from day one
If owning the site outright from the start matters most to you, choose a one-off site instead. It's from £695 for up to 5 pages or £995 for up to 10, paid in full before it goes live. Hosting, your domain and support are then £20 a month, which you can cancel with 30 days' notice.
Whichever way you go, with us or anyone else, check the domain first. It's the one part you can't easily replace.