A website is made up of several parts that can have different owners: the domain, the content, your customer data, the code and design, and any third-party services. Check the written agreement for each one, because being able to edit your pages doesn't on its own mean you own the site or can move it.
Having a login to edit your website isn't the same as owning it, or being able to run it somewhere else. You may own all of your content but use a platform that won't let you export the features built on it.
Ask your provider to describe what a handover would involve in practice, including the files, accounts, data exports and anything the site depends on. This guide covers the questions to ask, but your contract is what sets out the actual arrangement.
Your domain, content and business data belong to you from day one. The website code and design become yours once the 12-month initial term is paid, or earlier if you choose to pay the remaining months.
After the first 12 months, you can keep the £89.99 a month service running or give 30 days' notice and arrange the handover. Any third-party services or licences used on the site need to be covered in the handover plan too.
Before your old service ends, confirm that you have access to the domain. Check how your email is routed, where the site will be hosted, where the backups are kept, which page addresses need redirecting and how you will export your data. Identify any software that will need replacing or a separate licence.
Keep a written record of what will move, who will move it and when.
Ask your provider to confirm in writing what belongs to your business now and what transfers later. Ask which accounts you can access, whether you can export your data, and which files and instructions they will hand over. Check which licences continue after you leave and whether any remaining payments or transfer costs apply.
Clear answers help you choose a provider with confidence and avoid surprises if you decide to move later.
No. The domain, content, code and design are separate parts, and you need to check who owns each one.
Yes. You can pay the remaining months of the 12-month term, which makes the code and design yours, and then arrange the handover. The terms page sets out the full arrangement.
Not always. Check which third-party services the site depends on before you move, and plan the transfer around how the site is actually built.
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