Who owns your website and domain?

Your website is really a few separate pieces — the domain name, its settings, the hosting, the site itself and your email — and any of them can be in someone else’s name. Most owners find out when something breaks. Here’s how to check now, while it’s easy.

Why it matters

During a recent hosting move, one of my clients’ domains turned out to be in a separate GoDaddy account from the one the business used every day. The website stayed offline until we tracked down the right login. It got sorted out, but it’s a common story: a domain registered by a former employee, an old web designer or a marketing company, in their account — or set to renew on a card that expired years ago.

The pieces, and who should control them

• Domain name (yourbusiness.com). You rent it yearly from a registrar such as GoDaddy, Namecheap or Hostinger. It should be in an account you control, under your business email, with auto-renew on.
• DNS settings. These point your domain at your website and your email. They usually live with your registrar, your web host or a service like Cloudflare. If they live with your web host, moving or cancelling hosting can quietly take your email down with it.
• Hosting. Where your site’s files live. You should have the login, or at least know who does and how to reach them.
• The website itself. The WordPress, Shopify or Squarespace account. Make sure you have an owner or administrator login.
• Email ([email protected]). Know who the email administrator is, so you can add or remove people.
• Google Business Profile and Analytics. On your Business Profile, make sure you’re an owner, not just a manager. If someone else set up your analytics, ask to be added as an administrator so you’re never locked out.

How to check, step by step

1. Look up your domain. Search your domain at lookup.icann.org. It shows the registrar, the expiration date and the nameservers (where your DNS settings live).
2. Log in to the registrar. Confirm the domain is in an account you can open, under an email you check, with auto-renew on and a current card.
3. Find your DNS. The nameservers from step 1 tell you where. Make sure you can log in there, too.
4. Confirm your website and hosting logins. Log in to your site’s admin and your hosting account. If you can’t, find out who can.
5. Check your Google accounts. Business Profile: owner. Analytics: administrator.
6. Write it all down. Keep every login in a password manager or a sealed list that someone else at the business can reach.

Working with a web designer

Giving your web person access is normal — they need it to do the work. The safe way is to add them as a user on accounts you own, rather than letting the accounts live under their name. If you part ways, you remove their access, and nothing breaks.

If you’re locked out

Start with whoever set things up. If that doesn’t work, registrars and hosts can usually restore access once you prove the business is yours, and Google Business Profile has a process to request access to a profile someone else controls. It takes patience, so it’s worth checking before you need it.