Five parts to check
The five parts of a website, and who holds each one
“Who owns my website?” is really five questions.
| Part | What it is | Who should hold it | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain registrant | The legal holder of the domain | You or your business | Your registrar account |
| Registrar | The company the domain is registered through | Any, with the account in your name | Nominet or ICANN lookup |
| Host | The servers your site runs on; it can differ from your registrar | Your account, or clear exit terms | Your invoices |
| Platform | The software, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or Shopify | Your account, or a written export route | Ask for the admin login |
| Designer | Whoever designed, wrote or built the site | You, if the copyright is assigned in writing; otherwise the designer | Your contract |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Strictly, a .uk domain isn’t property you own: Nominet’s .UK Registrant Terms, in force from 9 February 2027, say a domain “is not an item of property”. The registry records the named registrant as the holder, whoever paid. Whoever controls the domain also controls where its email goes.
How to check who holds your domain
Public lookups show the registrar, but usually not the registrant.
- For .uk, .co.uk and .org.uk: use Nominet’s Domain Lookup. It shows the registrar and expiry date. Nominet says it doesn’t show the registrant’s name or address unless they chose to display them.
- For .com and other generic endings: use ICANN Lookup. ICANN says results containing personal data “may be redacted for privacy”.
- Then confirm with the registrar that the registrant is you or your business, with an email you control.
- For .uk, before 9 February 2027: Nominet Online Services only sends password resets to the email on the registration, so if one reaches you, your address is on it. After that, registrars handle all .uk processes.
What registrar privacy hides
A privacy service keeps you as the registrant but hides your contact details. A proxy service, ICANN explains, makes the provider the registrant of record, licensing the domain to you. A lookup often can’t tell which you have, so ask the registrar.
How to move a .uk or .com domain to a new registrar
Changing registrar doesn’t change the registrant or move your website. If you only want a new host, ICANN notes you can point the domain at it and skip the transfer.
| Step | .uk before 9 February 2027 | .uk from 9 February 2027 | .com and other generic domains |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you need | The new registrar’s tag (often called an IPS tag) | A Transfer Authorisation Code from your current registrar | An auth code (also called an EPP code) from your current registrar |
| How it starts | Your registrar changes the tag. If it can’t, you can in Nominet Online Services for £10 + VAT. | Give the code to the new registrar | Give the code to the new registrar |
| Time limits and locks | A registrar that accepts transfers by hand has up to 5 days | The code given within 5 days, free. Locks removed within 5 days, free, unless the registrar reasonably believes there’s abuse. The code expires after 14 days. | The code within 5 calendar days. Transfers can be refused for 60 days after registration or a transfer, and are blocked for 60 days after a registrant change unless your registrar lets you opt out. |
| If it goes wrong | Ask the new registrar, then Nominet | Complain to Nominet | File a complaint with ICANN |
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The 2027 rules are in Nominet’s .UK Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy. For a .com, transfer before changing the registrant’s details, to avoid the 60-day lock. ICANN’s Board adopted changes to its transfer rules on 7 June 2026; they apply only once implemented, so check your registrar’s current terms.
If your designer has the domain in their name, or has disappeared
Ask in writing, and keep invoices showing you paid for the domain.
- Ask the designer to make you the registrant. For .uk before 9 February 2027, they start a Registrant Transfer through their registrar, or in Nominet Online Services for £10 + VAT, payable by either side; you then have 5 days to accept. From 9 February 2027, and for .com, the registrant asks the registrar.
- If the designer refuses or has vanished, use a dispute route.
.uk: Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has administered Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service since 7 July 2026. You need enforceable rights in a name that’s the same as or similar to the domain (a trade mark helps but isn’t essential), and must show the registration is abusive. The DRS Policy lists, as possible evidence of abuse, a domain registered because of a relationship between you and the holder, where you used it exclusively and paid for it. Mediation is free; a decision costs £200 if the holder doesn’t respond, or £750 otherwise. Fully reasoned cases take about eight to 12 weeks.
.com: the UDRP
Under ICANN’s dispute policy, you must prove the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark you have rights in, the holder has no rights or legitimate interests in it, and it was registered and is used in bad faith. WIPO charges US$1,500 for one to five domains decided by one panelist.
The honest limits. These routes decide who holds the domain, not your website files or hosting, and take weeks. Get legal advice if your contract is disputed. If renewal is near, act first: under Nominet’s current process an unrenewed .uk domain is deleted 95 days after expiry, and a registrar may suspend it sooner. Nominet’s reminder goes to the registrant’s email, which may be the designer’s.
Who owns the website design, words, photos and code
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the author is the first owner of copyright (section 11), and computer programs count as literary works (section 3). An assignment “is not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor” (section 90(3)). Employees differ: an employer owns what staff make in the course of their job, unless agreed otherwise (section 11(2)).
The Intellectual Property Office’s guidance says a commissioned work belongs to its creator, “not you the commissioner, unless you otherwise agree it in writing”. Without that, a court may find an implied licence to use the work, which “does not necessarily result in a transfer of ownership”.
Logo
A freelance designer usually keeps the copyright in a logo they drew unless they assign it to you in writing, though a court can sometimes decide it was meant to be yours. If a logo matters to your business, get it assigned.
Photos
Your own photos are yours; a photographer’s stay theirs unless assigned. Stock photos are licensed, so check the licence covers a move.
Words
Text you wrote stays yours. Text a designer or copywriter wrote is usually theirs unless assigned.
Code and design
Custom work usually belongs to its maker unless assigned. Themes, plugins and fonts are licensed, so a designer can only pass on what the licence allows.
Ask for an assignment, or a written licence to use, change and move the site.
Wix, Squarespace and Shopify: what you can take with you
Builders run your site on their own software, so most of the finished site stays behind when you leave. A domain bought through them can be moved.
| Builder | The website | What you can export | A domain bought through them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Wix says the content you build belongs to you, but the site must run on Wix’s servers | The site can’t be moved to another host | EPP code emailed to the registrant contact; .uk uses the new provider’s tag |
| Squarespace | Many features rely on Squarespace’s own code | An .xml file for WordPress: layout pages, one blog, text and image blocks, but no store pages, style settings or custom CSS | For .uk, switch off Domain Lock and use the new provider’s tag |
| Shopify | The theme downloads, but a Theme Store theme is licensed only to the store that bought it | CSV files of products, customers, orders, gift card codes, discount codes and financial data | Only the store owner can transfer it, even from a paused store |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Export before you cancel: Squarespace warns that an expired site’s content may already be deleted.
Checklist: what to ask before you sign with a designer or pay-monthly provider
Get the answers in the contract or published terms.
- Domain registered to you or your business
- Your own registrar login, or the code on request
- Who renews the domain, and the renewal price
- Whose name the hosting and builder accounts are in
- Copyright in design, code and text assigned in writing
- What you can take: files, database or an export
- Any minimum term, and the cost of leaving early
- What happens to site, domain and email if you leave
What Millwards Digital’s own terms say
We sell websites, so here is what our terms say.
- New domains bought through our checkout are registered with you or your organisation as the legal registrant, through Hostinger, in our registrar account. You don’t get a login to that account.
- A domain you already own stays registered to you. We never ask for your registrar password.
- The website: you keep ownership of material you provide, and once the build fees are paid you may use the final bespoke website made for your business. The terms don’t say copyright in our design or code passes to you; a later written term agreed by both sides takes priority.
- Leaving: cancel care by email before the next billing date, with no cancellation fee. Hosting stops when the paid period ends, and once agreed amounts are paid we’ll reasonably help transfer content you own and transferable services. Domain renewal is billed separately each year; if you cancel it, we’ll explain the transfer or renewal options before auto-renew is switched off, but completing any transfer before expiry is up to you.
Common questions about website and domain ownership
Who owns my domain if my web designer bought it?
Whoever is named as the registrant, which may be the designer even though you paid. Check with the registrar, and if it isn’t you, ask the designer to make you the registrant.
Do I own my website if I paid for it?
Not automatically. Under UK copyright law, the designer usually owns the design, code, words and photos they created unless they assign the copyright to you in a signed document. Without that, you may only have a licence to use the site.
How do I get my domain back from a web designer who has disappeared?
Find the registrar with Nominet’s Domain Lookup or ICANN Lookup; if you’re the registrant, ask the registrar to help you regain access. If the designer is the registrant and won’t respond, Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service can order a .uk transfer if you show rights in the name and an abusive registration. For a .com, the UDRP needs a trade mark you have rights in, no legitimate interest by the holder, and a domain registered and used in bad faith; panels sometimes leave complex contract disputes to the courts, so get legal advice.
Can I see who owns a .co.uk domain?
Usually not by name. Nominet’s Domain Lookup shows the registrar and expiry date, but not the registrant’s name or address unless they’ve chosen to show them. Nominet provides registration data to third parties with legitimate reasons, such as enforcing legal rights.