Your Website is Your Business Asset—Own It!

Your website is the digital storefront of your business, and just like a physical location, you need to own it outright. Yet, many businesses unknowingly allow agencies or developers to register their domain name and host their website on private servers, putting them at risk of losing control over their online presence.

In this blog, we’ll explain:

✅ Why you should always own your website hosting and domain

✅ The risks of letting agencies control your hosting

✅ How to check where your website is hosted

✅ The importance of securing multiple domains for your brand

Why You Must Own Your Hosting and Domain

Many business owners assume that when they hire an agency or web developer to build their website, they automatically own everything. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If someone else controls your domain and hosting, they essentially own your website.

Here’s why you should always register your domain and hosting under your own account:

1. Full Control & Super Admin Access

If an agency registers your domain or sets up hosting under their account, you are at their mercy for any changes, upgrades, or migrations. Without super admin access, you might not even be able to retrieve your data if they decide to stop working with you.

2. Prevent Digital Lock-In

Some agencies intentionally move clients’ hosting to their private servers, making it difficult (or impossible) to transfer your site elsewhere without rebuilding it from scratch. This “digital lock-in” forces you to keep using their services indefinitely, even if they become too expensive or fail to meet your needs.

3. Avoid Unnecessary Downtime or Site Loss

If an agency shuts down, goes bankrupt, or refuses to renew your domain, your website could go offline overnight. Owning your domain ensures you control renewals, updates, and security.

4. SEO Benefits & Brand Protection

If an agency controls your hosting and decides to move your website, it can cause major SEO damage—such as broken links, lost rankings, and decreased traffic. Owning your domain allows you to properly manage redirects, hosting changes, and SEO strategy.

How to Check Who Owns Your Website Hosting & Domain

If you’re unsure whether you fully own your hosting and domain, use these free tools:

✔️ SiteChecker – Checks hosting provider & site health

✔️ Who-Hosts-This.com – Identifies hosting provider

✔️ Hosting-Checker.net – Checks IP, provider & hosting details

Simply enter your domain, and these tools will show where your website is hosted. If it’s under an agency’s name instead of your own, it’s time to regain control.

Understanding Hosting Types & Transferability

Not all hosting platforms allow easy migration. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Non-Transferable Hosting (Avoid These!)

Certain website builders and platforms do not allow you to transfer your site, meaning you’re locked into their ecosystem:

❌ Wix

❌ Squarespace

❌ Shopify (partially transferable but limited)

If you ever want to switch hosting providers, you’d have to rebuild your site from scratch.

2. Transferable Hosting (Recommended)

These hosting services allow you to move your website freely:

✔️ SiteGround

✔️ Bluehost

✔️ WP Engine

✔️ HostGator

✔️ Cloudways

✔️ Kinsta

Always choose a hosting provider where you fully own your account and can migrate your website if needed.

Why Purchase Multiple Domains for Your Business?

Securing multiple domains ensures brand protection and SEO security.

✅ Prevents competitors from using similar domains (e.g., mybrand.com vs. mybrand.net)

✅ Protects against typosquatting (e.g., mybusiness.com vs. mybuisness.com)

✅ Allows future expansion (e.g., mybrand.co, mybrand.shop)

✅ Improves local SEO (e.g., mybrandflorida.com)

It’s a small investment that prevents big problems later.