Who Owns Your Company Website? What to Clarify with an Agency or Freelancer

Paying for a website does not automatically give you control over every part of it. Your developer might register the domain in their own name, host the site in a shared agency account or use assets with licences that cannot be transferred. Before work begins, establish who contracts each service, who controls the accounts and what you will receive when the project ends.

1. Website ownership is not a single right

Website ownership covers several technical and contractual arrangements. An invoice for building a website does not, by itself, establish who holds the domain registration, who owns rights in the code or who can recover an account.

• The domain registrant is the person or organisation recorded as holding the right to use the domain, subject to the rules of its extension.
• The hosting account holder is the customer in the contractual relationship with the provider. They generally manage services, billing and the access options available within that account.
• The website administrator has permissions within the website application, such as publishing content, changing settings or managing users.

These roles can belong to different people. A WordPress administrator account does not automatically provide access to the domain, website files, databases or hosting invoices. Rights in the design, code and content are a separate matter and should be addressed through contracts and licences.

2. The domain: check the registrant and recovery arrangements

If the website represents your company, ask for the domain to be registered to your company using accurate details. An agency can manage the technical work without becoming the registrant. Check the email address linked to the account too: important notices should not depend entirely on someone outside your business.

Before registering your domain, agree in writing:

• who will be named as the registrant and who can access the account used to manage the domain;
• who monitors expiry, authorises renewal and pays for the service;
• who can change nameservers and DNS records;
• how you can recover access and arrange a registrar transfer or registrant change if required.

Moving a domain to another registrar is not the same as changing its registrant. Procedures and requirements depend on the extension and provider. If your collaborator has already registered the domain in their name, resolve that position before the project closes. A verbal assurance that the domain is yours does not replace the appropriate records and documentation.

3. Hosting: who controls the service, and what can you move?

Ideally, essential services should sit in an account held by your company, with delegated access for collaborators where available. Agency-managed hosting can also be a workable arrangement, but you need to understand what you can access and how you can leave.

Whether you choose web hosting or another type of infrastructure, establish who the provider's customer is, what management covers and who handles updates. Building the site does not automatically include ongoing maintenance.

Ask for a documented way to export the files, database and configuration information needed to move the site. If email uses the same service, address mailboxes, messages and DNS settings separately. Moving a website does not automatically move its email service.

Also agree who creates backups, where they are stored, how long they are retained and under what conditions restoration can be requested. Check these responsibilities against the actual offer and contract rather than assuming them from the service name.

4. The contract: which usage rights do you receive?

An agency or freelancer agreement should identify the deliverables and the rights attached to each. Website components do not all have the same legal status, and technical access does not necessarily give you permission to reuse or redistribute them.

• Custom code and design: specify whether you receive a licence or an assignment of relevant economic rights, including permitted uses and conditions.
• Copy, photographs and video: record who supplies them and who checks the rights needed for publication.
• Themes, plugins, fonts and stock images: request a licence inventory showing the licence holder, renewal requirements and usage restrictions.
• External services: identify subscriptions for forms, newsletters, payments and other integrations, and agree who contracts them.

A plugin supplied under an agency licence may have terms that prevent transfer or continued updates after your relationship ends. Ask about alternatives and any resulting obligations before handover. If the website processes personal data, also clarify the parties' roles, access to that data and applicable responsibilities. Seek qualified legal advice for important contractual clauses.

5. Your access and documentation checklist

Create the checklist at the start, not on the final day. For each account, record its holder, the responsible person, the recovery method and the level of access required. Do not put passwords in an ordinary handover document or send them through an unprotected email.

Access to check

• The domain account and DNS management.
• The hosting account, plus access to files and databases through the available methods.
• Your own website administrator account, rather than an editor-only role.
• Traffic analytics, search engine tools and tag management accounts.
• Email, message delivery, forms, payment services and other integrations.
• The code repository and source files needed to modify the project, as agreed in the contract.

Documents and information to receive

• The contract, schedules, invoices and any agreed handover or acceptance record.
• An inventory of components and licences, including renewal obligations.
• Instructions for routine tasks and a record of important configuration details.
• Export, restoration and migration procedures, including known limitations.
• A list of recurring services and a clear definition of post-launch maintenance.

6. Website handover: verify before closing the project

A useful website handover is a practical review, not simply a password delivery. Work through the agreed steps with your agency or freelancer:

1. Sign in to your company accounts and check permissions, contact details and recovery methods.
2. Test important functions, such as forms and the checkout process where relevant, without unnecessarily exposing real personal data.
3. Confirm that the agreed deliverables, documents and exports have arrived in usable formats.
4. Enable two-factor authentication where available and store recovery codes securely.
5. Remove access that is no longer needed and rotate shared passwords or keys in a coordinated way to avoid disrupting integrations.
6. Record outstanding issues, who is responsible and the agreed conditions for resolving them.

If you are also arranging a domain transfer, check its requirements separately. Do not change DNS records or cancel existing services until you understand what depends on them.

The practical takeaway: keep essential accounts under your company's control and document rights and responsibilities. You can delegate day-to-day administration without becoming dependent on one collaborator. Clarifying these arrangements before signing is much simpler than trying to recover access after the relationship ends.