A designer builds your site. They buy the domain while they're at it, because it's easier. The relationship sours, or they close up shop, or they just stop answering. And suddenly your web address, your email, and every link you've ever handed out belong to someone else. It happens more than you'd think, and it can kill a trading business overnight.

The three things that must be in your name

Before we get to the checks, know what you're looking for. There are three assets that have to sit in an account you personally control:

  • Your domain name - the address itself (yourbusiness.co.uk). If someone else registered it, they own it.
  • Your hosting account - where the website files live. Separate from the domain, and just as easy to lose access to.
  • Your Google Business Profile - the listing that shows your address, phone, and reviews in Google Maps. If a third party claimed it, you can be locked out of your own reviews.

Lose any one of these and you lose something real: enquiries, email, reputation, or all three at once.

Check your domain right now

Go to who.is. Type your domain into the search box and hit enter. You're looking for the WHOIS record, a public log of who registered the domain and when it expires.

The fields that matter are Registrant Name, Registrant Email, and Registrant Organisation. They should show your name, or your company name, and an email address you can access today.

A result that looks healthy:

Registrant Name: Jane Bloggs
Registrant Organisation: Bloggs Plumbing Ltd
Registrant Email: jane@bloggs-plumbing.co.uk
Expiry Date: 2027-03-14

A result that should make you act fast:

Registrant Name: Web Design By Dave
Registrant Email: dave@webdesignbydave.co.uk
Expiry Date: 2026-09-01 // expiring in weeks, and Dave's not answering

If you see a designer's name, an agency name, or any email address that isn't yours, the domain is not yours. Not legally, not practically.

One wrinkle: some registrars, companies like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or 123 Reg, use WHOIS privacy protection, which replaces the registrant details with a proxy address. If you see something like privacy@domainprivacygroup.com instead of a real name, that doesn't mean you're safe. It means you need to log in to the registrar directly and confirm the underlying account is yours.

Check your hosting account

Your hosting is separate from your domain. You might have your domain at Namecheap and your hosting at SiteGround, for example. The question is the same: can you log in to that account yourself, with credentials only you hold?

If your developer set up the hosting and you've never had login details, ask for them now. A professional will hand them over without hesitation. If there's resistance, that tells you something.

What you want is an account where:

  • The billing email is yours
  • You have the password, or can reset it via your own email
  • Your payment card is on file, not theirs

If a developer needs ongoing access to manage the site, they should be added as a secondary user or collaborator, not listed as the account owner. Thats the professional way to do it.

Check your Google Business Profile

Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you use for the business. If your listing appears and you can edit it, you're in control.

If you can't find it, or it says someone else manages it, you'll need to request ownership. Google has a formal process for this: search for your business on Google Maps, click your listing, and look for the option that says “Claim this business” or “Own this business?” You'll be asked to verify via postcard, phone, or email. It takes a few days but it works.

The risk here is reviews. If someone else controls the profile, they control what appears next to your name in Google Maps. Dont leave that sitting with a third party.

What to do if something's wrong

Stay calm and move methodically. Start with the domain, because that's the one with an expiry date attached.

  • If the domain is registered in a developer's name: ask them to transfer it to you. Most registrars make this straightforward. If they won't, you can raise a dispute with Nominet (for .co.uk domains) or ICANN (for .com). It takes time, so start immediately.
  • If hosting access is missing: contact the hosting company directly. Prove you're the business owner with a company registration number or a utility bill. Most hosts have a recovery process.
  • If your Google Business Profile is claimed by someone else: use the “Request access” flow on Google Maps. The current manager gets notified and has seven days to respond. If they don't, Google reviews the claim.

How we handle it at Bad Boy Labs

When we build a site, the domain goes in your name, the hosting account goes in your name, and we get added as a collaborator where we need access. You hold the keys. We're the mechanic, not the landlord.

If you'd like us to look at your current setup and map out exactly what you do and dont control, start here. It's a short conversation and you can say no to anything that follows.