Who owns the domain — you, or the agency that built your site?

How to check who actually owns it

Every registered domain has ownership data (or part of it, at least) in a public record called WHOIS. You can use any free WHOIS lookup service, enter your domain name, and see the registrant listed. If that name is the design agency's, not you or your company, you're not the legal owner of the domain — even if you're the one paying for it every year.

Some agencies use WHOIS privacy to hide ownership details, which is normal and common for privacy reasons. Even with privacy enabled, though, you can ask the agency for written confirmation of who the actual registrant is, or ask the registrar directly to confirm ownership.

Why agencies register the domain under their own name

Not every agency does this in bad faith. Some register the domain under their own name as a temporary technical step at launch and simply never transfer it, or forget to. Others do it deliberately as leverage: if a client wants to leave, they can't easily do so because their site is effectively hostage to a domain they don't own.

Either way, the practical outcome for the client is the same: no real control over a core digital asset of their business.

The practical consequence if the domain isn't yours

If you decide to leave the agency you're working with, you won't be able to take your site and host it elsewhere without their consent, because they legally own the domain. Some agencies charge an extra fee for "ownership transfer," and some refuse outright. In the worst case, if the agency shuts down or disappears, the domain can be permanently lost if it isn't renewed.

How Dekwin handles this

The domain and hosting are registered directly in the client's name from day one, not Dekwin's. That means the client is the full legal owner from the very first moment, and it's transferable to anyone else at any time without needing anyone's permission.

If you find out the domain isn't yours right now

If you already have a live site and discover the domain is registered under the agency's name, the practical steps are:

• //Ask the agency in writing (a documented email) to transfer domain ownership to your name
• //If they refuse or stall, contact the registrar directly and ask about ownership dispute procedures
• //If the situation is complicated, don't wait until you actually need to move the site — resolving this early is far easier than resolving it during a crisis

Even if the domain is in your name, make sure you get renewal alerts

Owning the domain under your name is essential, but it's not the whole picture. You also need to make sure your own email (not just the agency's) is registered as a contact on the domain account, so you personally receive renewal alerts. If the agency managing the domain shuts down or stops operating without warning, and you're the only one who won't get notified, the domain can expire and be lost without you knowing until it's too late.

The simplest way to be sure: ask for direct access to the registrar account itself, not just a promise that the agency will notify you. That direct access is the real guarantee — more than any verbal assurance.