Whoever makes the changes, the business should hold its own domain, its hosting account, an admin login, a complete copy of the site and the licences for everything on it.

A phone number change that needs a ticket

The business has a new phone number. Changing it on the website should take two minutes. Instead it means an email to the developer who built the site, a wait, and an invoice for an hour's minimum.

Nobody at the business can log in. Perhaps there never was a login, or the site runs on a system the developer wrote, which nobody else knows how to use.

While that developer is busy, on vacation or ill, the old number stays on every page. If they stop working altogether, the site is frozen.

None of this was decided on purpose. It happened because nobody asked what the business would own once the site was finished.

How a site ends up locked

The third matters most. Whoever is named as the domain's registrant holds it, and with it the website address and the email that runs through it. A site can be rebuilt; an address is much harder to replace.

A system nobody else can use

Some developers build every site on a content system of their own. It may work well, and it may be perfectly secure.

The risk is dependence. Only that developer can update it, repair it or explain it, and another developer usually cannot take it over without rebuilding the site.

Ask one question of any system: if this developer disappeared tomorrow, could another professional maintain the site?

With WordPress or another widely used system the answer is usually yes. With a private one it is usually no.

What owning a website includes

Start with the domain. It belongs in an account the business can log in to, registered to the business itself, with an email address the business controls as the contact.

Hosting comes next: an account held by the business, or a contract that says how the business gets full access and can move the site whenever it chooses.

The business should have its own admin login for the content system, and a complete copy of the site: files, database, images and design files.

It should also hold the licences for paid themes, plugins, fonts and photographs, since those were bought for the business and must move with the site.

A worked example

An independent sporting goods store in a Fraser Valley town sells footwear, team equipment and seasonal gear, and takes uniform orders from local leagues.

Its site was built four years ago by a developer on his own content system, hosted on his server.

Every sale, every change to the hours and every deadline for league orders needed an email and a wait of a week or more. Last spring the soccer uniform deadline appeared on the site after it had passed.

When the owners asked for a login, they learned there was none to give, and that the domain was registered in the developer's name.

They asked politely, in writing, for the domain in the business's name, a copy of all the text and images, and a date to move the hosting. The developer agreed and billed for the time.

His system could not export anything another platform could use, so the site was rebuilt on WordPress, with logins for two staff and a one-page guide to the common changes.

The store keeps a professional on a monthly plan for updates and larger changes. The difference is that it now chooses who that is.

Asking for what you need

Most developers will help when asked plainly. Many never thought about handover, or assumed the business preferred them to handle everything.

Put the request in writing, list exactly what you need, and offer to pay for the time it takes. The list makes the request concrete; payment keeps it friendly.

Start with the domain, since it matters most, then the admin access, then the copy of the site and the licences.

Access is not the same as knowing how

A login does not help much if the pages were built with a page builder in a way only the developer understands.

Ask for a short written guide, or half an hour at a screen together, covering the changes the business makes most: the phone number, the hours, a new product, a news item.

The accounts around the site

The same question applies to the services around the website. Analytics, Search Console and the Google listing are often set up under the developer's own Google account.

Ask to be made an owner or administrator of each, using an account the business controls, rather than simply being given a view of the reports.

Then keep a list of every account the site depends on, from the registrar to the email service, with who holds the login and when each one renews.

Next time, in the contract

Before any new site is built, the contract should say who owns the finished work, that the domain and hosting will be in the business's name, and that admin access and a full copy come at launch.

It should also say what the developer charges for changes afterwards, how quickly they respond, and what happens if they stop offering the service.

The counter-case

Owning a site does not mean editing it yourself. Many businesses rightly prefer a professional to make every change on a maintenance plan, and there is nothing wrong with that.

A developer's own system can also be a reasonable choice for an unusual site, if the contract covers ownership, export and what happens if the developer stops.

What matters is that the business holds the domain, the hosting access, a login and a copy, so it can always choose who does the work.

What to ask for

  1. Find out who holds the domain registration.
  2. Transfer the domain into the business's name.
  3. Get an admin login of your own.
  4. Request a full copy of the site.
  5. Confirm who holds the hosting account.
  6. Collect the licences for themes, fonts and photographs.
  7. Write ownership terms into future contracts.

Step two is the one to settle first, while the developer is still answering email. A domain is the hardest part to recover once a developer has moved on or gone quiet.

With the domain and hosting in your hands, settling which address the site uses is covered in with www or without, pick one.

Frequently asked questions

Why can only my developer edit my site?

Usually because it runs on a system the developer wrote, no admin login was handed over, or the hosting and domain sit in the developer's own accounts.

What should owning a website include?

The domain and hosting in the business's name, its own admin login, a complete copy of the site, and the licences for themes, plugins, fonts and photographs.

Why does the domain matter most?

Whoever is registered as the domain's holder controls the website address and the email that runs through it. A site can be rebuilt; an address is harder to replace.

Is a developer's own system a problem?

Not always, but it creates dependence. Only that developer can maintain it, and another professional usually cannot take it over without rebuilding the site.

How do I ask for access politely?

In writing, with an exact list of what you need, starting with the domain, and with an offer to pay for the time it takes.

Do I have to edit the site myself?

No. Many businesses rightly keep a professional for every change. Ownership means holding the keys, so the business can choose who that professional is.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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