By Bilal Hashimi ·
Most contractors ask me two questions when we're talking about a new website: how much does it cost, and when can it go live. Almost nobody asks the third question, and it's the one that matters most: who owns my website after it's built?
It sounds obvious. You paid for it, so you own it. But in the website business, that isn't always how it works — and the difference can cost you thousands down the road.
Who owns your website: the three pieces
A website isn't one thing. It's three separate pieces, and each one can be owned by someone different.
1. The domain name. Your domain (like yourcompany.ca) is the one piece that should always be in your name, no exceptions. The domain is registered with an account — usually at a registrar like Cloudflare, GoDaddy, or Porkbun. If your designer registered the domain in their account, they effectively control your business's address on the internet. Insist that the domain be registered in an account you own, with your email address on the account.
2. The hosting. Hosting is the server space where your website's files live. Plenty of designers offer "hosting included" and manage it for you, which is fine — as long as you're the account owner or can take the site elsewhere whenever you want. What you don't want: a setup where cancelling your designer means your website disappears.
3. The code and content. The actual design, text, and images of your site. With a custom-built website, this is straightforward: the designer should hand over full ownership of the files, and you should be able to take them to any developer or host. With website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy), the platform owns the underlying code — you own your content, but you can't pack up the site and move it. You're renting the storefront, not buying the building.
The monthly-fee trap
Here's the scenario I see all the time. A contractor pays a designer $3,000 for a website. Six months later they want to leave — the designer is unresponsive, or they found someone better, or they want to redesign. Then they find out:
- The domain was registered under the designer's account, and transferring it requires their cooperation.
- The site was built on a proprietary platform, so it can't be moved — leaving means starting over.
- The monthly "hosting and maintenance" fee was actually the only thing keeping the site alive. Stop paying, lose the website.
Suddenly the real cost of that $3,000 website is another $3,000 to rebuild it, plus the downtime in between. This is why the question of who owns your website should come before you sign anything, not after you want to leave.
A monthly fee isn't automatically a scam — hosting, security updates, and backups cost real money, and many good designers bundle them. The red flag is when the fee is the thing that keeps your website existing, rather than keeping it maintained. Those are two very different things.
What to ask before you pay a designer
Before you hire anyone — me included — get clear answers to these five questions:
- Will the domain be registered in my name, in my account? Accept nothing less than yes.
- If I stop paying you, does my website keep running? The answer should be yes, with a clear explanation of how you'd manage hosting yourself.
- Can I take the site to another designer or host? You want a yes, with the site files handed over or easily exportable.
- Do I get everything you built — files, logins, documentation? At handover, you should receive a complete package.
- Is it in writing? A one-page agreement stating you own the finished website is enough. Verbal promises don't survive disagreements.
If a designer gets uncomfortable with these questions, that's your answer. A professional who builds with clean ownership has nothing to hide.
How I handle ownership at OneS Automation
This is one reason I build custom websites instead of renting space on proprietary platforms. When I build a site for a contractor, the setup is simple: the domain is registered in your account under your name, you own every file and image on the site, and you get all the logins at handover. Hosting can run through me for convenience, but if we ever part ways, the site goes with you — no hostage situations, no rebuild ransom.
Ownership matters because a website is a business asset. If you're paying four figures for one, treat it like one: get it in writing, hold the keys, and make sure the exit door is unlocked before you walk in.
If you're shopping for a new site and want a number to budget against first, read my breakdown of how much a website costs in Ottawa in 2026 (opens in a new tab).
We build websites for Ottawa-area contractors that book jobs — and you own every pixel. See what OneS Automation (opens in a new tab) does.
By Bilal Hashimi