Pay Monthly Website Ownership: What You Actually Own
Every provider has an answer to this. Most of them are worded carefully enough that you cannot tell what it means. Here is ours, and how to test anyone else's.
Ownership is the one question that separates a fair pay monthly deal from a bad one, and it is the one most often answered with a shrug. You will read sentences like full use of the website for the duration of your subscription. That is not an answer. It is a way of not giving one.
So let us deal with it properly: what there is to own, what we hand over, and the three questions worth asking anyone before you sign anything.
A website is four separate things
Most of the confusion comes from treating a website as one object. It is not. It is four, and they can be owned by different people at the same time.
Your domain name
The address itself. This is the one that really matters, because it carries your rankings, your email and anything printed on your van. It should be registered to you.
Your content
Your words, photos, logo and reviews. Yours before you arrived and yours afterwards, whoever typed them up.
The site files
The pages, the design, the code and the images as built. This is the part providers get vague about.
The service around it
Hosting, SSL, backups, security patching, monitoring and support. This is what the monthly fee is really buying, and it is the part that stops when you stop paying.
A fair arrangement gives you the first three outright and is clear that the fourth ends when the subscription does. An unfair one keeps your domain hostage, or hands you nothing at all.
What you get from us if you leave
Plainly: we give you the files that make up your website, and we transfer your domain name into your name. You can take both to another host or another designer and carry on from there. Your content was always yours.
What stops is the service. The hosting, the SSL, the backups, the security patching, the monitoring and your monthly update time all end, because that is what you were paying for each month. Nothing is held back to make leaving harder than it needs to be.
If you ever want to go, we would rather you went cleanly than stayed because leaving was made difficult.
Three questions to ask any provider
- 1Whose name is the domain registered in? Ask them to confirm you are the registrant, not just that they manage it for you. If the answer is that they hold it, that is the single biggest risk in the whole arrangement.
- 2What exactly do I receive if I cancel? You want the word files in the answer, and you want it in writing. A reply about continued access or a migration fee is a different thing.
- 3Is there a minimum term or an exit fee? Plenty of pay monthly deals run a twelve or twenty four month initial term. That is not wrong, but you should know before you sign, not afterwards.
Our answers, for the record: the domain is registered to you, you get the files, and there is no minimum term and no exit fee. Plans run month to month.
Why does anyone hold the domain?
Sometimes it is laziness: the designer registered it on their own account years ago to get the job started and never moved it. Sometimes it is deliberate, because a client who cannot take their address with them is a client who tends to stay.
Either way it is worth checking yours today, whoever built your site. A WHOIS lookup on your domain will show the registrant. If it is not you or your company, ask for it to be transferred, and do it while you are on good terms rather than during a disagreement.
What ownership does not solve
Getting the files is less useful than it sounds if nobody is going to look after them. A set of website files on a hard drive is not a working website. It needs hosting, an SSL certificate, security patches and someone to apply them.
That is the honest limit of the handover. We can give you everything that is yours, but if you are leaving, have somewhere for it to go first. Most people who move on go to another developer rather than running it themselves, and that works perfectly well.
How the plans compare on this
| Starter £74 | Professional £249 | Business £649 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain registered to you | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Website files on leaving | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum term | None | None | None |
| Exit fee | None | None | None |
| Content changes included | 30 minutes a month | 2 hours a month | 5 hours a month |
The full feature list for each plan is on our web design prices page, and the terms are in our terms and conditions. If you are weighing this against buying a site outright, subscription website versus ownership runs the five year sum.
Not sure who owns your current domain?
Send us the address and we will look it up and tell you what we find, whether or not you ever become a client.
Frequently asked questions
Do I own my website on a pay monthly plan?+
You own your domain name and your content throughout. If you decide to leave, we hand over the files that make up your website and transfer the domain into your name, so you can take it elsewhere. The service around it, meaning hosting, security and support, ends when the subscription does.
Who is my domain name registered to?+
You, or your company. We manage it for you, but you are the registrant. If you are with another provider, do a WHOIS lookup on your domain today and check, because a designer holding your domain is the biggest risk in any web arrangement.
Is there a minimum term on a pay monthly website?+
Not with us. Plans run month to month with no fixed term and no exit fee. Many providers do run a twelve or twenty four month initial term, so it is worth asking before you sign.
What happens to my website if I cancel?+
It comes off our hosting, and we send you your website files and transfer your domain. You can then host it elsewhere or hand it to another designer to pick up.
Can I take my website to another host myself?+
Yes, although you will need somewhere for it to go. Website files on their own are not a working site until they are hosted, secured and kept patched. Most people who move on pass the files to another developer.
How much does a pay monthly website cost?+
Starter is £74 a month, Professional £249 and Business £649. Every plan covers the build, your domain, hosting, SSL, security and ongoing support, with no separate build invoice.
What should I ask a provider before signing?+
Three things: whose name the domain is registered in, exactly what you receive if you cancel, and whether there is a minimum term or exit fee. Get all three answers in writing.
Keep reading
Subscription Website vs Ownership: Which Suits Your Business?
One of the biggest calls a small business owner makes. Here is an honest look at where each model wins, and where it does not.
Web DesignWhat Is a Pay Monthly Website?
What you get, what it costs, what to check before you sign, and the kind of business it suits best.
Web DesignPay Monthly Web Design vs Upfront: Which Is Better?
A straight comparison of the two ways to pay for a website, including the five year cost and the hidden extras.
Web DesignManaged Pay Monthly Web Design in South Wales
What managed actually means, who it suits, and when you would be better off paying once and walking away.
Want this in writing before you commit?
Ask us what you get on the day you leave. We will put the answer in an email so you have it.