Who Owns Your Website? Code, Domain and Content
By CodexierPublished 6 min read
Most companies assume that because they paid for their website, they own it. Then the agency closes, the freelancer stops answering, or a dispute arises, and it turns out the domain is registered to a former employee and the code lives in someone else's account. Ownership of a website is not one thing. It is five layers, and you need access to each of them.
Domain: whose name is on it
The domain is the most valuable layer and the most often neglected. Check the registrant details at your registrar: the registrant organisation should be your company with its organisation number, and the contact email should be a role address you control, not a person's private mailbox or your agency's. For .se domains the registry keeps a public record of the registrant, which makes the check easy. If the domain is in the agency's account, ask for a transfer to an account in your name. A reputable agency will do this without fuss; a reluctant one has just told you something important.
Hosting and admin logins
Hosting is where the site actually runs, and it comes with a cluster of accounts that all need an owner. The pattern to insist on is simple: the account belongs to your company, and the agency is added as a collaborator with the rights it needs. When the relationship ends, you remove one user instead of rebuilding everything.
- Hosting or cloud account, including the billing contact and the payment card on file.
- DNS management, which may sit at the registrar or at a separate provider and controls both web and email.
- CMS admin, with at least one administrator account in your name and two-factor authentication turned on.
- Third-party services the site depends on: email sending, forms, analytics, maps, payment providers, search console.
Store the credentials in a password manager the company controls, not in a spreadsheet, and make sure at least two people at the company can reach them.
Source code and themes
Under Swedish copyright law the person who writes code owns it unless a contract says otherwise, and for a supplier that is the supplier, not you. The invoice does not transfer copyright. So the contract has to, or you need a licence broad enough that it does not matter. What you own also depends on how the site was built.
| What | Typical ownership | What to secure |
|---|---|---|
| Custom code written for you | Supplier, unless assigned in the contract | Assignment or perpetual licence clause, plus a copy of the repository |
| Off-the-shelf theme or plugin | The theme vendor; you hold a licence | Licence key in your name, renewal in your control |
| Open-source platform such as WordPress | Nobody; the licence lets you use it freely | Nothing to own, but keep your customisations separately |
| Website builder such as Wix or Squarespace | The platform; you rent the result | Accept that the site cannot be moved, and export what can be exported |
A builder site is a rental with excellent convenience. That is a fair trade for many businesses, as long as you know it is the trade.
Ask for the code to live in a repository account you own, with the agency as contributor. That gives you the current version at all times and a history of changes, and it removes the awkward end-of-contract handover entirely.
Content, images and licences
Text written by your own staff is yours. Text written by a copywriter follows the same rule as code: it needs an assignment or licence in the contract. Images are where companies most often own less than they thought. A photographer keeps copyright by default and grants a licence for stated uses; stock images are licensed to whoever bought them, which may be the agency; and a logo drawn by a designer needs an explicit assignment before you can trademark it.
- Keep every licence file and receipt for stock images, fonts and icons in a folder you own.
- Ask the photographer for a written licence covering web, print and social use, without a time limit.
- Get the logo's source files and an assignment of rights in writing.
- Check that customer testimonials and case studies have written permission you can produce later.
An access list to keep
None of the above stays true on its own. People leave, cards expire, agencies restructure. A one-page access list, reviewed every six months, is the difference between a supplier change that takes an afternoon and one that takes a lawyer. For each layer it names the account, the owner at your company, the backup person, where the credentials are stored and the renewal date. Test it once a year by logging in to each account.
When this matters less: a solo consultant on a builder platform who is happy to rebuild in a weekend if needed can reasonably skip the formalities. Everyone else should treat the list as part of the company's assets. When we deliver a company website, the accounts are created in your name from day one and the code is handed over in your repository, and we will happily walk through your current access on a free call even if you never buy anything. Our packages are listed on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
My agency registered the domain. Do I own it?
Only if your company is listed as the registrant. If the agency's name is on it, the agency owns it in practice, whatever the invoice says. Ask for a transfer to a registrar account in your company's name. If they refuse, that refusal is itself the reason to move.
Does paying for a website transfer the copyright to me?
No. Copyright stays with the author unless a contract assigns it. Most agency terms grant a licence to use the delivered site, which is usually enough, but check that the licence is perpetual and lets you modify the code and move it to another supplier.
What should I ask for when a project ends?
A copy of the code and database, all credentials transferred to accounts in your name, the licence files for images and fonts, the logo source files, and written confirmation of what you may do with the material. Get it before the final invoice is paid.
Not sure what you actually control today?
Bring the names of your registrar, host and agency. In fifteen minutes we can check each ownership layer with you and tell you which ones need fixing before anything else.
Book a free 15-minute call