Do You Own Your Own Website?

Do You Own Your Own Website?

You may think that once you’ve paid to have a website created for your business, you own it – unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, a business owner decides to transition to a new website provider, only to learn that their current provider is the true owner of the site. If you don’t have ownership, your existing provider might even respond by telling you that the website will be shut down in the near future, placing you in a tight spot. Read on to learn how you know if you own your website and what to do if this issue arises.

Warning Signs That You Don’t Own Your Website

• You are paying a monthly subscription for web services. If this is the case, there’s a high chance that your provider actually owns the site and you’re just paying for usage of it.
• You do not have direct access to your website. Shady companies that retain ownership of your website without making it clear to you will often control access to the site.
• Your website has a very similar design to competitors’ sites. Often, website providers will create a template that they sell to many different companies in an industry, resulting in all of these companies’ websites looking nearly identical.

How to Make Sure You Own Your Website

If you’re concerned that you may be in this position, the first thing that you should do is check your contract with your website provider. These providers are legally required to state in this contract that they are claiming ownership of the website they made for you. Should you discover that you really don’t own your own website, don’t panic; you can still take steps to transition your web content to a site that you do own. However, you’ll need to act carefully to avoid conflict with your current provider.

Reach out to NorthWing Digital today if you’re looking for advice on the process to claim ownership of your website.