Do I own my website? A contractor's checklist before you sign

Do I own my website? You do only if four things are true: your business is listed as the registrant of the domain name, you have your own logins to the hosting and the site, your contract says the content and photos are yours, and your Google Business Profile, Analytics and Search Console are in your own account. If any of those belong to the company that built the site, you're renting. Ask the questions below before you sign any website-and-SEO deal, cheap monthly plans included.

The price isn't the problem. A low monthly plan can be a fine deal. Unclear ownership is the problem, and it only shows up on the day you try to leave.

Why contractors get stuck

It usually starts simple. Someone builds you a site, registers the domain "to save you the hassle," sets up your Google profile, and bills you monthly. Years later you want to switch, and you find the domain, the site and the Google accounts all sit in their accounts.

Owners ask about this all the time. One pressure washing owner asked on a trade forum whether a $49 a month website with SEO meant keeping the site and content if he stopped paying. The seller answered in the thread: the site runs on their platform and goes down if you cancel. That's a fair deal only if you know it going in. Here's how to get the answer in writing.

Do I own my website? The checklist

1. Who is the registrant of the domain?

The domain name (yourcompany.com) is the piece that matters most. ICANN, the nonprofit that coordinates domain names, defines the registrant as the person or business who registers the name. In its general FAQ, ICANN warns that if you hired a developer to manage your domain, they "may be listed as the official Registrant of record" even though you paid. ICANN's own good-practices article says letting a third party be your registrant is generally not good practice, and that the business should ideally still be listed as the registrant even when someone else manages the name.

To check, type your domain into ICANN Lookup. It shows which registrar holds the name. Contact details may be hidden for privacy, so ask that registrar who the registrant of record is. If it isn't you, ask for a change, and keep your receipts.

2. Who gets the renewal emails?

Under ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy, registrars send renewal reminders about a month and about a week before a domain expires, to the registrant's email. If that's the web company's email, you never see them. ICANN's registrant responsibilities also say you must keep your contact details accurate and answer your registrar within 15 days. Make sure it's your email on file.

3. Can I move the domain when I want?

ICANN's transfer FAQ says you have the right to move your domain between registrars, and your registrar must give you the transfer code (called an AuthInfo code) within five calendar days of asking. It also says that changing the registrant name, organization or email can lock the domain from moving to a new registrar for 60 days. So fix the registrant first, then plan the move. ICANN doesn't get involved in ownership disputes, which is why the contract matters.

4. Where does the site live, and can I get a copy?

Ask whether the site is on your hosting account or theirs, and whether it's built on a system you can move. If it's WordPress, the built-in export tool downloads your posts, pages, comments, categories and users in a file another WordPress site can import. Ask how the photos, theme and settings come along too. If the site lives on a builder only they use, ask what you'd get when you leave.

5. Who owns the words and photos?

Under U.S. copyright law (17 U.S.C. 201 and 204), copyright starts with whoever created the work, and a transfer isn't valid unless it's in writing and signed. The narrow "work made for hire" rules in section 101 mostly cover employees, not outside companies. So text an agency writes for you is generally theirs unless the contract assigns it to you. Photos your crew takes on the job are generally yours. Stock photos are licensed, so ask whether the license goes with you. This isn't legal advice. Have a lawyer read any contract you're unsure of.

6. Who owns your Google Business Profile?

Google says a profile can have several owners but only one primary owner, and managers can't add or remove users. You want to be primary owner and the company to be a manager. If someone else already owns your profile and won't answer, Google lets you request ownership. The current owner gets 3 days to respond.

7. Are Analytics and Search Console in your account?

In Google Analytics, only an Administrator can add or remove users. In Search Console, owners have full control, and other users only see data. Ask for Administrator and Owner on your own Google account. Without it you can't check whether the website is working, and your history leaves with them.

8. What happens when I cancel?

Get the exit terms in writing before you sign:

• Contract length, auto-renewal and how much notice you must give
• Any fee to release the domain, files or accounts
• Whether the site goes dark the day you stop paying
• What you walk away with, item by item

Also check your business email. If your address runs on a domain they control, leaving can mean losing your email too.

Questions to paste into your email before you sign

1. Will my business be the registrant of the domain, with my email on file?
2. Will I have my own login to the registrar, hosting and website admin?
3. Will you give me the domain transfer code on request, at no charge?
4. Does the contract assign me the text, photos and design you create?
5. Will I be primary owner of my Google Business Profile, Administrator on Analytics and Owner in Search Console?
6. If I cancel, what do I get, how fast and at what cost?

If an answer is vague, ask again. A good web company answers these in one email.

Do this this week

• Look up your domain in ICANN Lookup and find your registrar
• Log in to the registrar, or ask who the registrant of record is
• Open your Business Profile's People and access and check who's primary owner
• Confirm you're Administrator in Analytics and Owner in Search Console
• Find your website contract and read the cancellation section
• If you're on WordPress, download an export as a backup

Once you own the site, the next job is filling it with real work. Your job pages and service-area pages should show what you've done and where. GeoUP publishes your crew's finished jobs straight into your own WordPress site, with no contract and no setup fee.

Common questions