Your website is really four things: the domain name, your words and photos, the site files, and the hosting. The domain and your content should always belong to you, whoever builds the site. The site files and hosting depend on your contract. If your domain is registered in your web designer's name, fix that first, because it is the one thing you cannot easily replace.
Who owns your website: you or your web designer?
It depends on what the contract says, and most tradies never read that part. The safe setup is simple: the domain is registered in your business name, your logo, photos and words are yours, and the contract says clearly who owns the site files and what it costs to take them with you if you leave.
The $400 a month static website
In July 2026, a post on r/webdev titled "I found out my mom is paying $400 a month for a static website and an email" got 824 upvotes. She had been paying for about ten years. The top reply, with 530 upvotes, was blunt: "You probably need to get the domain off them."
The reason was not the website. It was the email address. The reply went on: "or she will lose her old email address which people likely have saved." The poster later confirmed the good news: "yes, she owns the domain... that saved a headache." Because the domain was hers, she could move.
Another commenter did the maths on ten years: "$48,000". Others argued about a fair price, from "10 or 20 a month is closer" to "you're missing the setup, support, update and monitoring". Both sides have a point. But the lesson for a tradie is the same: if you control the domain, you can always leave.
The four parts of a website, and who should own each
The domain is your address. Your content is your logo, photos and words. The site files are the design and code. Hosting is the server that keeps it online. You should always own the domain and the content. Site files and hosting can sit with whoever runs the site, as long as the exit terms are clear.
| Part | What it is | Who should own it |
| Domain | yourbusiness.com.au, and the email that runs on it | You, always, registered in your business name |
| Content | Your logo, job photos, words, reviews and business details | You, always |
| Site files | The design, code and templates | Depends on the contract. Ask what it costs to take them |
| Hosting | The server that keeps the site online | Whoever runs the site, paid monthly or yearly |
Why the domain matters most
Your domain is on your ute, your business cards, your quotes, your invoices and your Google Business Profile. Your email address probably runs on it too. If someone else controls it, they control where your customers end up. A new website can be built in days. A domain you have used for ten years cannot be replaced.
How to check who owns your domain
Look up your domain on a WHOIS service. For a .com.au, auDA, the body that runs .au domains, provides a public lookup. It shows the registrant, which should be your business name or ABN, and the registrar. Then check that the account at that registrar is in your name, with an email address you control.
Here is a five minute check:
- Search your domain on the auDA WHOIS lookup and note the registrant and the registrar.
- Make sure the registrant is your business, not your web designer's business.
- Log in to the registrar account, or ask your designer which account it is in.
- Check the email address on the domain. auDA says transfer codes go to the registrant email listed in the registry, so it must be one you read.
- Write down the renewal date. A domain that lapses can be lost.
How to get your domain back from a web designer
Ask your current registrar for the domain's transfer authorisation code, also called the domain password or EPP code. auDA says the registrar will send it to the registrant email on record. If you cannot get it, auDA has a .au password recovery tool. With the code, you can move the domain to a registrar account in your own name.
Do it politely and in writing. The top reply in that r/webdev thread gave the same advice: get the domain without "making them angry or accusing them of a scam", and only then deal with ending the monthly contract.
If the domain is registered to the designer's business instead of yours, changing the registrant is a separate process, which auDA also explains. Plan the move so your email does not drop out.
What $100 a month should actually buy
A monthly fee is fair when it pays for real work: hosting, security updates, backups, fixing what breaks and making small changes when you ask. It is not fair when it pays for a site nobody touches and an email address. The test is simple: can you list what you get each month, and can you leave on clear terms?
Bare hosting for a simple site can be cheap. That is the "10 or 20 a month" side of the Reddit argument. But bare hosting does not update your photos, fix a broken form or tell you when a change might hurt your local search visibility. Someone has to do that work, and it is reasonable to pay for it.
Ampliia's Care Plan is $100 a month, month to month, with 30 days notice to stop. It covers hosting, maintenance and small updates like photo swaps and text changes. We also tell you before making any change that would hurt how the site shows up in search or AI answers. That is the whole list, and it is published on our pricing page.
Hostage traps to watch for
The common traps are a domain registered in the agency's name, long lock-in contracts, site files you can never take, your own photos and words claimed as theirs, and exit fees nobody mentioned upfront. Any one of these makes leaving expensive. Ask about all five before you sign, and get the answers in writing.
Before you pay anyone to build or run your site, ask:
- Whose name is the domain registered in? The answer should be yours.
- How long is the contract? Month to month is easiest to leave.
- Can I take the site files, and what does it cost? Get a number, not "we can talk about it".
- Who owns my logo, photos and words? They should be yours, full stop.
- What happens if I stop paying? You should know exactly what goes offline and what you keep.
Builders have their own version of this. Wix's help centre says Wix sites cannot be moved to another host, so leaving means rebuilding. We compare builders and agencies in best website builder for tradies.
How ownership works with Ampliia
With us, your domain, logo, photos and words are always yours, whether you stay on the Care Plan, buy out or leave. The site files stay ours while you are on the Care Plan. The $1,000 Buyout, available any time after Approval, hands you the full site files to host anywhere, and the Care Plan stops.
We would rather be upfront about the part that is not yours by default. If you stop the Care Plan without buying out, the site goes offline. Your domain, your content and your customer enquiries stay yours, so you can point the domain at a new site whenever you like. Nothing you put in is held back.
You can see the kind of sites we build on our Work page, including the Concreters For Hire Victoria Build and the Sydney Fence Group Build. Each trade has its own page too, like websites for concreters and websites for fencers.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the domain name of my website?
Whoever is listed as the registrant. For a .com.au, that should be your business name or ABN. You can check it with auDA's public WHOIS lookup. If your web designer registered it in their own business name, ask them to move it into an account in your name before you do anything else.
Can a web designer keep my domain?
If the domain is registered in their name, they control it until it is transferred. Many designers will hand it over when asked politely and in writing. auDA's process lets the registrant get a transfer authorisation code from the registrar. If you are stuck, talk to your new provider or auDA before the domain comes up for renewal.
Do I own my website if I pay monthly?
You should always own your domain and content. Whether you own the site files depends on the contract. With Ampliia, the site files stay ours while you are on the $100 a month Care Plan, and the $1,000 Buyout transfers them to you. Always ask what leaving costs before you sign.
What happens to my website if I stop paying?
It depends on the contract. With Ampliia, the Care Plan is month to month with 30 days notice to stop. If you stop without buying out, the site goes offline, but your domain, logo, photos and words stay yours, so you can point the domain at a new site whenever you choose.
Sources
- r/webdev, "I found out my mom is paying $400 a month for a static website and an email", July 2026: 824 upvotes, the top reply with 530, and the quotes used above.
- auDA: transferring a .au domain name to another registrar: transfer authorisation codes, the registrant email and the password recovery tool.
- auDA: transferring a .au domain name to a different registrant: changing who the domain is registered to.
- Wix Help Center: exporting or embedding your Wix site elsewhere: Wix sites cannot be moved to another host.
- Ampliia's own terms: the pricing page, the FAQ and the terms.
Related reading
- Best website builder for tradies
- What a tradie website costs in Australia
- hipages vs your own website
- Websites for tradies, by trade
What Ampliia charges
$500 setup, then $100 a month. The $100 Deposit starts the Build. You see the finished 20 to 30+ page site within 3 business days of the Deposit and your details, and the $400 Balance is only due on Approval. The Care Plan is month to month, and your domain, logo, photos and words are always yours.
Based in Geelong, Victoria. Built 30+ websites for Australian tradies, including painters, electricians, fencers, concreters and auto businesses.
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$500 setup, then $100 a month. $100 Deposit starts the Build. 20 to 30+ pages, service and suburb pages, quote form on every page. Full preview in 3 business days.