# Do I own my website and my domain?

By Humfrid · Owning your website · Published 2026-11-03 · https://humfrid.com/blog/do-i-own-my-website/

> You own your domain if you're its registrant, the person or business named on the registration. To check, look your web address up in ICANN's free lookup tool, then log in at the registrar it names and confirm the name and email are yours. If they aren't, ask in writing for the registrant to be changed to you. With Humfrid, your .com is included and in your name from the start, and if you ever leave, it stays yours.

Text Humfrid your business name and see your website within a day. Your own .com is included and in your name, you change the site by text, and if you ever leave, the address stays yours. Start at https://humfrid.com/.

Your web address is on your sign, your cards, your Google Business Profile and every link a customer ever saved. It's how people who heard your name find you. So it should be yours, in your name, with renewal notices coming to your inbox. Here's how to check in five minutes, and what to do if it isn't. If you're starting fresh or switching, Humfrid includes your own .com, in your name, from the first day.

## Why does it matter whose name is on my domain?

Because the person named on the registration controls the address. In ICANN's words, [a domain name registrant is an individual or entity who registers a domain name](https://www.icann.org/registrants), and that person or business has the contract with the registrar, the company the address is registered through.

That name decides a lot. ICANN says only the registered name holder, the administrative contact or someone they authorize [can start a transfer](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/about-transfer-policy-2017-10-10-en) to another registrar. Renewal reminders go by email, and ICANN's renewal rules say [all notices are sent to the registrant email address](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrant-about-errp-2018-12-07-en) on the record. If an address expires, ICANN warns that services like a website or email can [stop working](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrant-about-errp-2018-12-07-en).

So if your designer's name and email are on the record, they hold the keys, even if you pay the bill.

## How can I check who holds my domain in five minutes?

Look your web address up in ICANN's free lookup tool, then log in at the company it names. ICANN's page for domain owners says to use its [Lookup Tool to find your registrar](https://www.icann.org/registrants).

1. Go to [lookup.icann.org](https://lookup.icann.org/) and type your address, like yourbusiness.com.
2. Find the registrar in the results. Write the name down.
3. Look at the registrant fields. They may show your name or business, someone else's, or the word "redacted."
4. Go to the registrar's website and log in. If you have no login, use its password reset with your business email.
5. Once you're in, check three things: the registrant name, the email on file and the expiration date.

If the reset email goes to someone else, you've learned who controls your address. Better to know now than on the day you need it.

## How Humfrid does this for you

With Humfrid, your own .com web address is included, and it's in your name. There's no one to chase for it later.

You text your business name, answer a few questions, and see your website within a day. Nothing goes live without your OK. After that, you change it by text, with no login and no dashboard:

- "Change our Saturday hours to 9 to 1."
- "Add the photos I'm sending from this week's job."
- "We now serve the north side of town too."

Already have a domain? You can use it. After you upgrade, Humfrid texts you three records to add where your domain is managed. The domain and your email stay yours, and your website shows at your domain, with or without www.

The exit terms are in writing, too. Text to cancel. There's no contract and no fee to leave. Your web address is in your name and stays yours, and Humfrid emails you how to take it over. Your site goes offline when your plan ends, and its files are kept for 90 days and sent to you at no charge. You can see your website free for 14 days first, with no setup fee. See [the plans](/plans) for what each one adds.

## What does ICANN's lookup tool actually show?

It shows the public registration record for an address: [current publicly available registration data](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/updated-lookup-tool-for-domain-name-registration-data-now-available-29-7-2019-en). It runs on RDAP, which ICANN says became the definitive source for registration data on generic addresses such as .com [as of 28 January 2025](https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-update-launching-rdap-sunsetting-whois-27-01-2025-en), replacing WHOIS.

Don't be alarmed by blanks. Results with personal data [may be redacted for privacy](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/updated-lookup-tool-for-domain-name-registration-data-now-available-29-7-2019-en), and the registrar login is where you confirm it's you. If your address ends in a country code, ask your registrar how its records work, since ICANN's RDAP requirements [apply to generic domains' registries and registrars](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/registration-data-access-protocol/rdap-faqs-31-08-2018-en).

## Who should hold the logins to my website?

You should, for anything that holds your name, your address or your customers.

| Account | Whose name it should be in |
| --- | --- |
| The registrar (your web address) | Yours, with your own email |
| Your business email | Yours |
| The website itself | Yours, or a service that runs it for you and puts its exit terms in writing |

If you'd rather not manage a website account at all, a service can run the site for you. What matters is that the address is in your name and you know, in writing, what you get if you leave. That's how Humfrid works: you change your site by text, with no account to manage, and its exit terms are the ones above.

## What should I ask whoever built my site?

Ask these in an email, so the answers are in writing:

- Whose name and email are on the domain's registration?
- Which registrar is it with, and can I have my own login?
- When does it expire, and who pays the renewal?
- Where is the site hosted, and whose account is that?
- If we stop working together, what do I get: the text, the photos, the site's files? How, and how soon?
- Who owns the design and the text under our agreement?

A good designer will answer all of this without fuss, and gladly move the address over.

## What are the red flags?

Most have an innocent explanation. Each is still worth fixing.

- **The registrant is the designer's company,** and they won't change it.
- **You've never seen a renewal notice.** It probably goes to someone else's inbox.
- **"The domain comes with the site and can't be moved."** ICANN describes its transfer rules as giving you [the option to freely move your domain name from one registrar to another](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/do-you-have-a-domain-name-heres-what-you-need-to-know-19-12-2017-en).
- **A charge to hand over the address** that you never agreed to.
- **No clear answer about what happens when you leave.**

Once the registrant is changed to you, ICANN's policy says the registrar [must impose a 60-day inter-registrar transfer lock following a Change of Registrant](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/accredited-registrars/resources/domain-name-transfers/policy), though it may let you opt out first. When you do switch providers, [cancel your old website and keep your domain](/blog/cancel-website-keep-domain/) in the right order.

## Do I own the design and the text too?

That turns on your agreement and the law that applies, so it's a separate question from the web address. If it matters, say because you plan to move the site, ask a lawyer to read what you signed. Either way, keep your own copies of your photos and the words you wrote.

## What if my designer won't put the domain in my name?

Ask once more, in writing, and say exactly what you want: the registrant changed to you, with your email. Most requests end there.

If they don't, contact the registrar and ask what it needs from you. Don't expect ICANN to step in: [ICANN is not a registrar and does not transfer domain names](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/do-you-have-a-domain-name-heres-what-you-need-to-know-19-12-2017-en). If it turns into a dispute over your contract, that's the point to bring in a lawyer.

Whatever happens with the old address, your next one can be yours from the first day. Text Humfrid your business name, and you'll see your website within a day.

## Sources

- [Information for Domain Name Registrants](https://www.icann.org/registrants), ICANN
- [ICANN Update: Launching RDAP; Sunsetting WHOIS](https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-update-launching-rdap-sunsetting-whois-27-01-2025-en), ICANN
- [Updated Lookup Tool for Domain Name Registration Data Now Available](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/updated-lookup-tool-for-domain-name-registration-data-now-available-29-7-2019-en), ICANN
- [Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) FAQs](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/registration-data-access-protocol/rdap-faqs-31-08-2018-en), ICANN
- [5 Things Every Domain Name Registrant Should Know About ICANN's Transfer Policy](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/about-transfer-policy-2017-10-10-en), ICANN
- [5 Things every Domain Name Registrant should know about ICANN's Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP)](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrant-about-errp-2018-12-07-en), ICANN
- [Transfer Policy](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/accredited-registrars/resources/domain-name-transfers/policy), ICANN
- [Do You Have a Domain Name? Here's What You Need to Know.](https://www.icann.org/en/blogs/details/do-you-have-a-domain-name-heres-what-you-need-to-know-19-12-2017-en), ICANN