Guides · October 30, 2026
What happens to your website when you cancel?
Before you sign up with anyone, find out what you keep if you leave. Here's what to look for, and the questions to ask.
The short version
- Some "free" websites stay with the company when you leave. You were renting.
- Your domain should be registered in your name, from day one.
- Watch for yearly contracts that renew on their own, and fees to leave.
Most owners never ask this until they want to leave. By then the contract is signed, and the answer is sometimes "you keep nothing." It's worth five minutes before you sign.
The "free website" you don't keep
A lot of monthly marketing platforms include a website for free. The catch is in their help center: cancel, and the design stays with them. You keep your domain, maybe your words, and start over.
That isn't a scam. It's the deal. But if you thought you were paying for a website, you were renting one.
Renting a website vs. owning one
| What | Renting | Owning |
|---|---|---|
| Your domain | Sometimes in their name | Registered to you |
| The design | Stays with them | Goes with you |
| Your words and photos | Yours, if you ask | Always yours |
| Leaving | Contracts, notice windows, fees | Month to month, no fee |
The domain in someone else's name
Your domain (yourbusiness.com) is the address every customer, review, and Google listing points to. If your web company registered it in their name, leaving can mean asking them for it.
Owners who've been through it call it being held hostage. The fix is simple: the domain should be registered to you, with you as the owner.
Contracts that renew on their own
Some platforms sign you up for a year that renews unless you cancel in a short window, sometimes 60 or 90 days before the end. Miss it, and it's another year. Others charge a fee to leave early.
Month to month means you stay because it's working, not because you're stuck.
Ask these before you sign
Bring them to any web company. A good one answers in a sentence each.
- Whose name is the domain registered in? Can I see it?
- If I cancel, do I keep the website itself, or only my words and photos?
- Is there a contract? How long, and does it renew on its own?
- Is there a fee to leave early?
- If I leave, will you help me move, and what does that cost?
- Who owns the photos and the words you write for me?
How we do it
Your domain is always in your name, and your words, photos, and reviews are yours to take any time. We're month to month: 30 days' notice to leave, no fee.
The site itself (the design and code) is yours after 12 paid months, or sooner with a buyout that drops every month.
See pricing