What You Should Own When You Hire a Web Designer or Marketing Agency

The short answer: You should own your domain name, your website and its admin login, your Google Business Profile as an owner, your Google Analytics and Search Console accounts, your ad accounts, and your customer and lead list. The designer or agency should be a user on those accounts, not the owner. Ask for this in writing before you pay anything, and again when the work ends.

Picture this. You want to change your phone number on your website. You email the person who built it. No answer. You try the hosting company. They say the account belongs to someone else.

That is a bad day, and it is avoidable. Most of it comes down to one question: whose name is on the account?

This post lists what you should own, who should hold which role, and how to check. It works whether you hire a freelancer, a web design shop, or a marketing agency. That includes us. We are Flux Labs Agency, based in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and this is the list we work toward with our own clients.

Why does ownership matter more than the design?

A good design can be rebuilt. A domain, a Google listing, or years of reviews and history cannot.

When the accounts are in your name, you can change companies without starting over. When they are in someone else's name, they hold the leverage, even if they are nice about it today. People retire, shops close, and relationships end.

Owning your accounts is not a sign of distrust. A good partner expects it.

Who should own my domain name?

Your domain is your web address, like yourbusiness.com. It is registered through a company called a registrar. The person or business listed as the registrant is the holder of the domain.

It should be: a registrar account in your name, using an email you control. Your designer can be added as a helper if the registrar allows it.

Quick check: ask who the registrar account belongs to and what email is on it. If it is the agency's email, ask them to move it to you.

If you ever need to switch registrars, you will need a transfer code. ICANN, the group that sets the rules for domain names, says the registrar must provide that code within five calendar days of a request. The code goes to the holder of the domain, which is another reason the holder should be you.

Who should own my hosting and website files?

Hosting is the computer where your website lives. The website files and the editing system (often called a CMS, like WordPress) are the site itself.

It should be: hosting in your name, or at minimum an administrator login to the editing system plus a full copy of the files and content on request.

Many designers host sites for their clients. That is fine and often convenient. The test is simple: can you get a complete copy and take it elsewhere?

Quick check: ask, "If I leave, what exactly do I get, and how fast?" You want the words "full copy" in the answer.

Who should own my Google Business Profile?

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in local search, with your hours, photos, and reviews.

Google gives people different roles. Owners have full control. Managers can edit info and reply to reviews, but they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile. Only owners can remove other owners and managers. A profile has one primary owner.

It should be: you as the primary owner. The agency added as a manager.

Quick check: open your profile while signed in to Google, go to the people and access settings, and see who is listed and in what role. If you only see "manager" next to your name, you do not own it.

One more detail from Google: new owners and managers have to wait seven days before they can do some things, like transferring primary ownership. So fix this early, not the week you leave.

Who should own Google Analytics and Search Console?

These two free Google accounts show how people find your site and what they do there. Analytics counts visits and actions. Search Console shows how Google sees your site.

It should be: you as the Administrator in Analytics, and as an owner in Search Console. The agency can be an Editor or a full user.

Here is why. In Analytics, the Administrator role can add and remove users and assign any role. In Search Console, only owners can grant permissions to other users.

Quick check: open each account and look at the user list. If you are not in it, the data is not yours.

Who should own my ad accounts?

If you run paid ads, the ad account holds your history, your audiences, and your billing.

It should be: an account created under your business, with your payment method, and the agency given access to manage it.

When ads run through an agency's own account, you may lose the history when you leave. Ask where the account lives before you spend anything on ads.

Who owns my customer and lead list?

Every form fill, call, and message is a person who wanted your service. That list is part of what you built.

It should be: stored somewhere you can log in, with a full export on request. If you send texts, ask where the consent records live too.

Quick check: ask, "Where do my leads land, and can I download all of them today?"

What should I get when we stop working together?

A clean handover is a short list. Ask for it in the contract:

• Logins or ownership transfers for every account on the checklist below.
• A full copy of the website files and content.
• Your logo files, photos, fonts, and brand colors in their original formats.
• A list of every account and subscription tied to your site, such as the domain and hosting renewal dates.
• Confirmation in writing that the agency has been removed as owner anywhere it held that role.

Do not cancel until you have confirmed the logins work.

What is the ownership checklist?

Print this and compare it to what you have today.

• Domain registrar account. You should be: the account holder. Agency can be: a helper. Check: whose email is on it?
• Hosting. You should be: the account holder, or have a full backup on request. Agency can be: the admin you invited. Check: can you get a copy today?
• Website editor (CMS) login. You should be: an administrator. Agency can be: an editor or admin. Check: does your own login work?
• Website files and content. You should be: the owner of the finished work. Agency can be: the maker. Check: does the contract say so?
• Brand assets. You should be: the owner of logos, photos, and fonts made for you. Agency can be: a keeper of working files. Check: do you have originals?
• Google Business Profile. You should be: primary owner. Agency can be: a manager. Check: what role does the access list show?
• Google Analytics. You should be: Administrator. Agency can be: Editor. Check: are you on the user list?
• Search Console. You should be: owner. Agency can be: full user. Check: are you listed as an owner?
• Ad accounts. You should be: the account holder with your own payment method. Agency can be: the manager with access. Check: whose card is on file?
• Customer and lead list. You should be: the owner, with full export. Agency can be: the keeper of a copy. Check: can you download it today?

What do we do at Flux Labs Agency?

We put it in writing. Once you are paid in full, the finished website, brand assets, and content we create for you are yours. We keep rights only to our own internal tools, templates, and materials that existed before your project. You can read the exact wording in our MSA.

We aim to set up the accounts in your name from day one. If anything still sits in one of our accounts, like hosting or a code repository, ask us. We will tell you exactly where it lives and what moving it to you involves.

Whoever you hire, ask the same thing.

Common questions

Is it normal for an agency to host my website?

Yes, and it can be convenient. Just make sure the agreement says you can get a full copy of the site and take it with you, and ask how fast.

What if my agency already owns my accounts?

Ask for transfers in writing, one account at a time. Start with the domain and the Google Business Profile, since those are the hardest to replace. Do not cancel the agency until you have confirmed that you can log in to each one.

What if my web designer stopped answering?

Each account has its own recovery steps. Start with the registrar's support for your domain and Google's help pages for your profile. Our web design page explains how we handle handoffs.

Want to see what you own today?

If you are not sure who holds what, we can look. We will check your setup and tell you in plain words what is yours, what is not, and what to fix first. It is useful even if you never hire us.

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