You paid for the website, so it feels like yours. Then you try to leave, and the marketing company says the domain is registered to them, the site runs on their platform, or the design belongs to them. Sometimes they're bluffing, and sometimes the paperwork really does favor them. A website is really five separate things, and the fix depends on which ones they hold. Here's how to find out, and what to do about each. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Check the domain first. It carries your email and your search history, and it's the hardest thing to replace.
- If you're the registrant, your registrar must let you generate a transfer code, or provide one within five calendar days.
- If the agency is the registrant, you need its agreement or a lawyer. Domain transfer rules won't settle that for you.
- Paying for a site doesn't automatically give you the copyright, in the US or the UK. Look for a written assignment.
- Save a full copy of the site before you give notice, in case access changes.
A website is five separate things
| What it is | If the agency has it | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Get it transferred first. Everything else can be rebuilt | Look it up, then ask the registrar who the registrant is |
| Hosting | Move the site to an account in your name | Who gets the hosting invoice, and who can log in? |
| Site files and platform | Ask for a full export, or plan a rebuild | WordPress and similar export easily; an agency's own platform may not |
| Copyright in design, code and text | Ask for a written assignment | Read your contract for ownership or assignment clauses |
| Accounts around the site | Get added as admin, or set up your own | Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console, forms and email |
It's common to hold some of these and not others. You might own the domain outright and still have a site that can't leave its platform. Work down the list in this order, because each one is harder to replace than the next.
Start with the domain
Run your domain through ICANN's lookup. You'll see the registrar and the expiry date. The owner's name is often hidden for privacy, so if it's hidden, ask the registrar what it can confirm, and check your old invoices and emails. For .uk domains, Nominet says you can log in with the email address used to register the domain to view and update ownership details, though it recommends managing the domain through your registrar.
- You're the registrant, and you have the login. It's yours. Request the transfer code and move the domain to an account you control, or keep it where it is and change the login.
- You're the registrant, but the agency has the login. Contact the registrar directly with proof of who you are. For generic domains like .com, ICANN says the registrar must let you create a transfer code, or provide one within five calendar days. If it doesn't, you can file a Transfer Complaint.
- The agency is the registrant. ICANN's transfer policy gives the authority over transfers to the registrant and the administrative contact, and a written objection from the domain name holder is a valid reason to deny one. So you need the agency to agree to change the registrant, or legal help.
Watch for one trap. ICANN says you can't transfer a domain to a different registrar within 60 days of changing the registrant name, organization or email address, unless your registrar offers an opt-out and you take it. Ask about that before you change anything. Also note the expiry date, and make sure a renewal can't lapse while this is sorted out. If your email runs on the domain, copy the existing DNS records before anyone changes them, or your email can stop.
Formal disputes are narrower than people expect. ICANN's UDRP deals with abusive registrations such as cybersquatting and is started by trademark holders. For .uk domains, Nominet's dispute process requires you to have rights in the name, with new complaints handled through WIPO since 7 July 2026. If you have a trademark, ask a lawyer whether either fits. A plain contract disagreement usually won't.
Save a copy of the site
Do this before you give notice, while everyone is still being friendly. Ask for a full export: the site files and the database. For a WordPress site, that's routine. If the site runs on the agency's own platform, there may be no export at all, so save what you can yourself.
List every URL
Your sitemap (usually at /sitemap.xml) gives you the list. You'll need it to redirect old addresses if the structure changes.
Save your text and images
Copy the words, and download the photos you supplied or paid for. Check the rights in the next section before you reuse the rest.
Record what's connected
Forms and where they send leads, booking tools, chat, payment links and tracking codes.
Export what's in the site
Blog posts, customer messages and anything else stored in the site's own system.
If you end up moving the site, our guide to redesigning a website without losing SEO covers how to protect your rankings along the way.
Who owns the design and the content?
This is where many owners get a surprise: paying for the work and owning the copyright are different things.
- United States. A commissioned work only counts as a work made for hire in certain listed categories, and only with a signed written agreement. Otherwise, a transfer of copyright has to be in writing and signed by the owner.
- United Kingdom. GOV.UK says that when you commission a work, the first legal owner is whoever created it, unless you agree otherwise in writing. Courts may find an implied license to use the work for its intended purpose, but that may be limited and doesn't usually give you ownership.
So read your contract for an ownership or assignment clause. Some only transfer the rights once every invoice has been paid. If it says nothing, ask for a short written assignment of the design, code and copy. Text you wrote and photos you took yourself are usually yours already. Stock photos, themes and plugins are a separate matter, because they may be licensed to the agency rather than to you, so ask for a list.
The accounts around the site
- Google Analytics. Only an Administrator can add users, so ask to be made Administrator on your account or property.
- Google Tag Manager. Google says you can't ask its support team to add users, and that the account should be managed by someone in your organization, not an external agency. If the agency refuses, create your own container and replace the code on the site.
- Google Search Console. You don't need the agency here. Verify the site yourself, and Google says you can then remove the previous owners' verification tokens. That takes access to the site or your DNS.
- Google Business Profile. It has its own rules, and they're on your side: see how to get your Business Profile back.
- Google Ads. Check who has admin access, and see what to do if an agency won't give it to you.
What to send them
- We're moving our website and related accounts in-house [or: to a new provider], and we'd like to arrange a handover by [date].
- Please change the registrant of [domain] to [your legal business name], and provide the transfer code.
- Please provide a full export of the site files and database, and a list of any third-party licenses.
- Please confirm in writing that the design, code and content are assigned to us, as set out in [clause, if any].
- Please add [company email address] as Administrator on Analytics and Tag Manager.
Keep the tone practical, and don't threaten anything yet. Most handovers go through once someone asks clearly and sets a date. Sort out how you'll end the arrangement at the same time: how to get out of a marketing agency contract covers notice and fees.
If they won't hand it over
Check what you actually owe
An unpaid invoice gives them a reason to hold back, and may matter under the contract. Clearing it can be the fastest fix.
Offer to buy what you need
If they ask a fee for the domain or the files, compare it with the cost of a lawyer or a rebuild. Paying can be the cheapest way out, even if it feels wrong.
Get a lawyer's letter
Worth it when the domain is at stake, since it's the piece you can't simply rebuild.
Rebuild on hosting you control
If you keep the domain, you can point it at a new site and redirect the old URLs. Our guide to what a website costs gives you the budget range.
Use a new domain as the last resort
Without access to the old domain you can't redirect anything, so you start again in search. Update your Business Profile, ads and directory listings to match.
Next time, own it from day one
- The domain is registered by you, in your business's legal name, on an account you control.
- Hosting is in your name, or the contract spells out how you can leave and take the site with you.
- Copyright in the finished work is assigned to you in writing.
- You get every login, and a list of any third-party licenses, at handover.
Our guide to choosing a web design company lists the questions to ask before you sign. On our own website builds, the files, the code, the logins and the accounts are yours when the project's done.
Questions people ask
Do I own my website if I paid someone to build it?
Not automatically. In the US, a transfer of copyright has to be in writing and signed, and a commissioned site rarely counts as a work made for hire. In the UK, the creator is usually the first owner unless you agree otherwise in writing. Your contract decides most of this, so read it first.
Who owns my domain name?
Whoever is listed as the registrant, whoever paid the bill. If the agency registered the domain in its own name, it has the authority over transfers, which is why this is the first thing to check. Look up the domain, then ask the registrar who the registrant is if the record is hidden.
How long does a registrar have to give me a transfer code?
For generic domains such as .com, ICANN says the registrar must let you generate the code yourself, or provide it within five calendar days of your request. If it doesn't, you can file a Transfer Complaint with ICANN. This helps the registrant, so it won't help if the agency is listed as the registrant.
Can my old agency take my website down?
If your site runs on its hosting or its own platform, it may be able to, whatever the contract says about whether it should. That's why you should save a full copy of the site before you give notice, and keep the domain out of the agency's hands if you can.
What if my site is built on the agency's own platform?
You may not be able to export it at all. Ask for what you can get, save your pages, text and images, and record every URL. Then plan a rebuild on hosting you control, and keep the same domain and redirect old URLs where they change.
Can I use a domain dispute process to get my domain back?
Only in narrow cases. ICANN's UDRP is for abusive registrations, such as cybersquatting, and is started by trademark holders. Nominet's process for .uk domains also requires rights in the name. A plain disagreement over a contract usually needs negotiation or a lawyer.
Will I lose my Google rankings if I have to rebuild?
Keeping the same domain and redirecting any changed URLs protects most of what you've earned. Moving to a new domain without access to the old one is much harder, because you can't redirect anything, so treat a new domain as the last resort.
Not sure what you control, or need a site rebuilt on your own accounts? Book a strategy call and we'll map what you hold and what to do first.
