What you actually own after your website launches

Here's a question a lot of people never think to ask until it's too late: when your website is done, what do you actually own? The answer varies wildly, and some setups quietly trap you. Let me explain what you should own and why it matters.

You should own your domain

Your domain name, your yourbusiness.com, should be registered in your name, on an account you control. It sounds obvious, but sometimes a designer registers it under their own account, and then you don't really own your own web address. If they vanish or you fall out, you can lose it. Always have your domain in your own name.

You should own the website itself

The finished site, the design and the build, should be yours to keep, move, and edit. With some builders and some designers, you're effectively renting: stop paying or try to leave and the site's gone, and you can't take it with you. That's a trap. You should be able to walk away with your site intact.

You should get your design files

If there was design work, in Figma or similar, those files should be yours too. They're the source of your brand's look, and you might need them later for other things. A designer who keeps them hostage is keeping leverage over you.

Why lock-in is the real danger

The worst setups aren't the expensive ones, they're the ones you can't leave. Proprietary platforms, sites tied to one provider, "we host it and you can never move it" deals. They feel fine until you want to change and discover you can't without starting over. Freedom to leave is worth a lot.

Ongoing help is fine, being trapped isn't

To be clear: paying someone monthly to maintain your site is perfectly reasonable, I offer that myself. The difference is choice. A care plan you can cancel anytime while keeping your site is a service. A setup where leaving means losing everything is a trap. Always know which one you're in.

How I do it

Simple: you own your site, your domain, and your design files outright, with no lock-in. Cancel any ongoing care whenever you like and keep everything. Nothing held hostage, ever. That's how it should be, and it's a fair thing to demand from anyone you hire. Questions? Ask me anything.