How do I know if I own my website?

Ask your provider three things in writing: whose name the domain is registered in, whether you can download the site's files, and what happens to the site if you stop paying. If the answer to the last one is that it goes offline, you're renting.

Will I lose my Google ranking if I switch?

Not if the move is planned. Every old page address gets redirected to its new page, so the links and rankings it built carry over. The risky part is skipping that step.

What happens to my leads and customer list?

If your platform holds them, they get exported before you cancel and moved somewhere you control. That's the first thing to check, before anything else changes.

Own your website · Rochester, NY

Do you own your website, or rent it?

A lot of Rochester businesses pay every month for a site they don't own. If the bill stops, the site goes offline, and sometimes the domain, the leads and the customer list go with it. Here's how to check, and how to move to a site that's yours.

Check my site for free (585) 205-8684

The three ways people rent

What renting looks like here

Directory and ad bundlesA one-page site that comes with a listing or ad package. It sits on the vendor's address and goes away when the package does.
Rent-a-site agenciesNo setup fee, then a monthly bill for as long as you keep the site. Month to month sounds flexible until you want to leave and there's nothing to take with you.
All-in-one platformsOne vendor holds your website, your lead inbox and your customer list. Leaving means untangling all of it at once, which is why owners stay for years on sites they don't like.

What it adds up to over three years is in what a website costs in Rochester.

Check yours

Four things you should own

The domainRegistered in your name, with your login. Not your provider's, not your nephew's.
The site itselfFiles you can download and hand to anyone, so another designer can pick it up tomorrow.
Your Google Business ProfileYou as the owner, with your provider added as a manager if needed. Never the other way around.
Your leads and customer listIn an inbox or a tool you control, and exportable whenever you want.

Proof

Monty's Concrete, Rochester

Julie was paying $360 a month for a builder site that still had a page called "Empty Page" in the menu, and the platform held her leads and customer list. I rebuilt the site and moved her customer list to a CRM she owns. She now pays $360 a year to run the site and the CRM.

Read the Monty's case study →

How the move works

Moving without losing anything

Export firstLeads, customer list, photos and reviews come out of the old platform before anything is cancelled.
Build the new site beside the old oneYou see it on a preview link while the old site keeps running.
Redirect every old pageEach old address points to its new page, so the ranking it earned carries over.
Point your domainYour domain moves to the new site, and it's registered in your name.
Then cancelOnly after the new site is live and working.

Common questions

What owners ask

How do I know if I own it?Ask whose name the domain is in, whether you can download the files, and what happens if you stop paying. If the site goes offline, you're renting.
Will I lose my Google ranking?Not if every old page is redirected to its new one. Skipping that step is where rankings get lost.
What about my leads?They get exported before you cancel and moved somewhere you control. That's the first thing I check.

Builds start at $1,500, paid once. Every price is on the pricing page.