Who Owns Your Website? Domains, Logins and Lock-In Contracts Explained
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Paying for a website doesn't automatically mean you own everything in it. Your domain is held by whoever is listed as the registrant. The design and words are usually owned by whoever created them unless there is a written agreement transferring them to you. Your accounts belong to whoever set them up. The fix is simple: agree ownership in writing before the work starts, and keep every login in your business's name.
This is general information, not legal advice.
The four things to check
What | Who controls it by default | What you want |
Domain name | The person or entity registered as the licence holder | Your business as the registrant, with your own login |
Design and content | Usually the creator, unless a written agreement transfers it | A written assignment or clear licence to use it |
Website platform and hosting | Whoever opened the account | An account in your name, with the provider added as a user |
Google and analytics accounts | Whoever created them | You as owner, the provider as a manager |
Your domain name
A .com.au domain is licensed rather than bought outright, for terms of one to five years, and the registration details determine who holds the licence (auDA). If your web designer registered it under their own name or company, they hold the licence, not you.
Check your domain's registration details with your registrar, and ask for it to be moved into your business's name if it isn't already.
The design, code and words
In Australia, copyright doesn't automatically pass to the person who commissions or pays for work. Arts Law explains that a commissioner becomes the copyright owner only if there is a written agreement signed by the creator, although the commissioner usually gets an implied licence to use the work for the purpose it was commissioned for (Arts Law Centre of Australia). Work created by an employee as part of their job is generally owned by the employer.
For a website, that means:
Ask for the contract to state that the design, content and code you paid for are assigned to you, or that you have a licence to use, change and move them.
Check whether any templates, themes, fonts, photos or plugins are licensed separately, and whether those licences transfer to you.
Platform, hosting and accounts
A common problem is practical rather than legal: the provider holds the only login. Make sure you are the owner or administrator of:
The website platform or hosting account
The domain registrar account
Google Business Profile
Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Any email accounts on your domain
Your provider can be added as a user or manager. If you part ways, you remove their access instead of asking for yours.
Lock-in contracts
Some providers bundle the website, hosting and maintenance into a monthly plan with a minimum term. That can be good value, but ask:
What is the minimum term?
What happens if I stop paying: do I keep the site, a copy of it, or nothing?
Is there a fee to move the site or domain elsewhere?
Unfair terms in standard form contracts with small businesses have been prohibited since November 2023, according to the ACCC, which covers businesses with fewer than 100 employees or under $10 million turnover (ACCC). That doesn't replace reading the contract before you sign.
What to put in writing
Before you sign, make sure the agreement says:
The domain is registered in your business's name
You own, or have a licence to use and change, the design and content on final payment
You are the owner of every account, with the provider as a user
What happens to the site, the content and the domain if either side ends the arrangement
Any third-party licences (themes, fonts, photos) and who pays to renew them
If you have already lost access
Start with what you can prove: invoices, emails and contracts. Ask the provider in writing for the domain transfer, the account ownership and a copy of the site and content. If you can't resolve it, get advice from a lawyer or your state's small business commissioner.
Next step
Morphic's new business websites are offered with no lock-in contracts and everything in your name, and the quote spells out what you get. Request a fixed quote.
Related services: website maintenance in Ardeer and website design and development in Caroline Springs.
Related reading: Before You Sign a Web Design Quote: 12 Things to Check and How to Choose a Web Designer in Melbourne: 15 Questions to Ask.
Key Takeaways
Paying for a website doesn't automatically make you the owner of everything in it.
Your .com.au domain licence is held by whoever is listed as the registrant.
Copyright in design and content stays with the creator unless a signed written agreement transfers it.
Make sure you own every account, from hosting to Google, with your provider added as a user.
Check the minimum term and what you keep before signing any monthly website plan.
Emon Datta
Founder, Morphic Agency
Morphic Agency is a Melbourne-based UX design agency. We've shipped 50+ products across 15+ countries.
