Do you actually own your website? Domain, hosting and code explained

The three parts of a website

• The domain is your address, like yourbusiness.com. It's registered through a company called a registrar, and whoever is listed as the registrant controls it.
• The hosting is the computer that stores your site and sends it to visitors. Whoever holds the hosting account can take the site offline.
• The code and content are the files that make up the site: pages, images, text. Without a copy, you can't move the site anywhere else.

How to check what you own today

The quickest test: can you log in to your registrar and see your domain in your own account? If you've never had that login, ask whoever built your site where the domain is registered and in whose name. Then do the same for hosting. A public WHOIS lookup will show which registrar holds a domain, though owner details are usually hidden for privacy, so your own account is the reliable check.

The 60-day rules that catch people out

Moving a domain from one registrar to another is called a transfer, and it isn't always possible straight away. Under ICANN's transfer policy currently in effect, a registrar may refuse a transfer during the first 60 days after a domain is registered, and again within 60 days of a previous transfer. Changing the registrant's details, for example moving the domain from your developer's name into yours, can also trigger a 60-day transfer lock.

ICANN approved changes to these rules in June 2026, but they hadn't taken effect at the time of writing, so check your registrar's current policy before you plan around a date. These rules cover generic domains like .com; country domains such as .in follow their own registry's rules.

The practical lesson: get the domain into your name early, ideally from the day it's bought, rather than discovering the problem when you need to move.

What to get from your developer at launch

• The registrar login, with the domain in your name.
• The hosting account, in your name or transferred to you.
• A full copy of the code, as a download or access to the repository.
• Google Search Console and analytics, with you as the owner, not just a user.
• Your business email settings, if they set up email on your domain.
• Image and font licences, so you know you're allowed to keep using them.

If a past developer won't hand things over

Ask in writing for the domain's transfer code, sometimes called an auth code or EPP code, and for the registrant to be changed to you. If that goes nowhere, contact the registrar's support team, explain that you're the business the domain is for, and ask what proof they need. Keep every invoice and message; they're your evidence.

Frequently asked questions