Do you know who owns your business domain name? Do you know where your website lives, or where to find the login details if you needed to move it tomorrow?

If you’re not quite sure, you’re definitely not alone.

I build and look after websites for small businesses. One of the most common problems I come across has nothing to do with design at all. It’s simply working out who controls what.

Very often, the domain was bought with one company and the website is hosted with another. Email might be run by a third company altogether. And the passwords? Sometimes they’re sitting in the inbox of an old employee, or with a designer who set everything up years ago and has since moved on.

Most of the time, none of this matters. It only becomes a problem when you need to change something. Then a five-minute job can turn into weeks of chasing people.

So I’d like to walk you through what every business owner should know about their website.

The short answer: your business should own, and be able to log into, every account behind its website. That includes your domain, hosting, website admin, business email and DNS, plus Google Analytics, Search Console and your Google Business Profile. Your web designer can have access, but they should never be the only person who can get in.

The website information every business should have

You don’t need to be technical to look after your website. But you do need to know where the important pieces are kept and how to get into them.

That means knowing where your domain name is registered, who can log into that account, and when it needs renewing. It means knowing which company hosts your website, what platform it’s built on (like WordPress or Shopify), and how to log in as an administrator.

It also means knowing where your business email comes from, who can see your Google Analytics and Search Console, and how your website is backed up. And finally, it means knowing who else in your business could find all of this if you weren’t around.

If that sounds like a lot, please don’t panic. I’ll show you how to track most of it down below.

What is the difference between a domain and website hosting?

Your domain name is your website’s address. Mine is treeduckdesign.com.

Your hosting is where your website actually lives. It’s where all the files, pictures and information that make up your website are stored.

A simple way to picture it is to think of a house. The domain is the address on the envelope, and the hosting is the house itself. You need both, but they’re not the same thing.

You can buy both from the same company, but you don’t have to. In fact, I usually prefer my clients to keep them separate. It gives you more control, and it makes life much easier if you ever want to move your website somewhere new.

Where should I register my business domain?

The company you buy your domain from is called a domain registrar. There are lots to choose from, including GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Squarespace Domains and Atom.

For most of my clients, GoDaddy is still my favourite. It isn’t always the cheapest, but price isn’t the only thing that matters with something this important. I often need clients to log in and give me access or make a small change, and I’ve found GoDaddy fairly easy for business owners to find their way around. It also offers privacy and extra protection for your domain.

If you haven’t picked your business name yet, Atom is worth a look. As well as normal domain searches, it can show you premium domains that other people own and are willing to sell, and it can suggest ideas using AI. It also includes privacy protection. That makes it really handy when you’re still at the naming stage and trying to find something that’s available.

Namecheap is another well-known option, and it’s worth comparing if price is important to you. It covers the basics well, including privacy protection on eligible domains.

Cloudflare suits people who are more confident with technical things. Cloudflare says it charges domains at cost, without adding extra on top, and it offers strong security and speed tools too. It’s powerful, but for most of the small business owners I work with, I’d still choose something that feels simpler to manage.

You might also see Squarespace Domains. Google sold its domain business to Squarespace, so if you once bought a domain through Google Domains, you’ll probably now find it in Squarespace.

So which one do I recommend? For most small businesses, GoDaddy, because it’s easy to manage and easy for me to support. But there isn’t one right answer for everyone. And if your domain is already safely registered somewhere and you know how to get into it, there’s usually no reason to move it.

What matters most is that your business controls the account.

Who should own your business domain name?

You or your business should always be the owner of your domain, and you should always be able to log into the account where it’s kept.

Your web designer or IT company might need access to make changes, and that’s perfectly normal. But the domain shouldn’t live in an account that only they can open.

I’ve met businesses where a website was set up years ago by someone who has since left, and now nobody knows where the domain is or how to get to it. That’s when a small job turns into a big headache.

When I set things up for clients, I always make sure the business keeps control of its own website. It’s theirs, after all.

How do I find out where my domain is registered?

A good place to start is ICANN’s Registration Data Lookup Tool. ICANN is the organisation that looks after domain names around the world. Type in your domain, and it will usually tell you which company it’s registered with.

You might not see the owner’s name or contact details. That’s because of privacy protection, and it’s a good thing. All you’re trying to find out at this stage is which company looks after it.

Once you know the company’s name, search your business email for it. You may find a welcome email, a receipt or a renewal reminder that tells you who set it up.

Your accounts team can help here too. Domains need paying for regularly, so there’s often an invoice somewhere that points you in the right direction.

Where is my website hosted?

Your web host is the company that stores your website and keeps it running. That might be a company that specialises in WordPress, a general hosting company, a platform like Shopify, Wix or Squarespace, or your web designer’s own hosting.

It’s worth knowing the name of that company, who owns the account, and how to log in. You should also know when you pay for it, whether your website is being backed up, and who to call if something goes wrong.

There are more technical logins too, which your developer might use. I wouldn’t expect every business owner to understand those. What really matters is knowing where your website lives and that your business can get to it.

How do I find out who hosts my website?

There are free online tools that try to tell you who hosts a website. They can be helpful, but they aren’t always right.

That’s because many hosting companies rent space from much bigger companies behind the scenes. So a lookup tool might tell you your website is on Google Cloud, when actually you’re paying a smaller hosting company that happens to use Google’s computers.

The easiest way to find out is often to follow the money. Somebody is paying for your hosting every month or every year, so check your emails, invoices and bank statements.

What website login details should my business have?

If your website is built on WordPress, someone in your business should have their own administrator login. If you use Shopify, Wix or Squarespace, you should know which account owns the website and who can manage it.

Please don’t rely on your web designer being the only person who can get in. A good designer will happily look after things for you, but you should always be able to reach your own website.

It’s also best if everyone has their own login, rather than several people sharing one username and password. That way, when someone leaves, you can simply remove their access without changing it for everyone else.

And whenever you can, switch on two-factor authentication. That’s the extra step where you get a code on your phone. It makes it much harder for anyone else to get in.

Prefer to work through this on paper? There’s a free printable checklist further down.

Where is my business email hosted?

This is the one people often forget.

Your website and your email can share the same domain name but come from completely different companies. Your website might be with one hosting company, while your email comes from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

The thing that tells emails where to go is called an MX record. It lives in your domain settings. You don’t need to know how it works, but you do need to know it’s there.

I’ve seen businesses lose their email for days because someone changed their domain settings while moving their website, and nobody checked where the email was going. So before anyone changes anything, find out who provides your email and ask for a copy of the current settings to be saved.

What is DNS and why should I know where it’s managed?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It sounds complicated, but you can think of it as a set of signposts. It tells the internet where to find your website and where to deliver your email.

Those signposts can be managed in different places. Sometimes it’s where you bought your domain, sometimes it’s your hosting company, and sometimes it’s a separate service like Cloudflare.

That’s why knowing where your domain is registered isn’t always enough on its own. You also need to know where the signposts are kept. If they’re changed by mistake, your website or email can stop working.

What about Google Analytics, Search Console and Google Business Profile?

Your domain and hosting aren’t the only accounts that matter.

Your business should also be able to get into Google Analytics, which shows how many people visit your website, and Google Search Console, which shows how you appear in Google searches. Your Google Business Profile matters too, as it’s the listing that shows your business on Google Maps.

The same goes for anything else connected to your website. That could be your email newsletter tool, your payment system, your online shop or your cookie banner.

I’ve taken on projects where nobody knew who first set up the Analytics account, or where the important emails were being sent. The rule is simple. Your business should always be able to reach its own accounts and its own information.

Don’t let one person hold all the keys

Now think about who in your business can actually get to all of this.

Is it just one director? One member of staff? Your web designer? Someone who left three years ago?

If something happened tomorrow and you urgently needed to get into your domain or website, could someone else do it?

For bigger businesses, I’d suggest at least two trusted people know where everything is kept. That doesn’t mean writing passwords on sticky notes or sharing them around the office. A good password manager, like Dashlane, lets you store everything safely and give the right people the right access.

The aim is simply to make sure everything doesn’t depend on one person.

Your business website ownership checklist

Take five minutes and see how many of these you can answer.

Do you know where your domain is registered, and does your business control that account? Do you know when it renews, and is auto-renew switched on? Do you know where your DNS is managed?

Do you know who hosts your website and what platform it’s built on? Who has administrator access? Who provides your business email?

Who owns your Google Analytics account? Does your business have access to Search Console? Who manages your Google Business Profile? How is your website backed up?

And finally, if the main person wasn’t available, could someone else get into everything?

If you got stuck on a few of those, you don’t just have an admin problem. You have a website ownership problem.

And it’s much easier to fix that now, while everything is stable, than in the middle of a website move, an email outage or a problem with your domain.

Frequently asked questions

Should my web designer own my domain name?

No. Your business should own the account where your domain is kept. Your web designer can still be given access to make changes, but they shouldn’t be the only person who can get in.

Can my domain and website hosting be with different companies?

Yes, they can. The company you bought your domain from and the company that hosts your website don’t have to be the same. I often prefer to keep them separate, because it gives you more freedom to make changes later.

Will changing website hosting affect my email?

It doesn’t have to. But it can if your domain settings are changed by mistake during the move. Before anyone moves your website, find out who provides your email so those settings can be kept safe.

How can I find out who registered my domain?

Start with a domain lookup tool, like the one from ICANN. It will usually tell you which company your domain is registered with. Then search your emails, invoices and bank payments for that company’s name. That should help you find the account that was used.

What happens if my old web designer registered my domain?

First, find out which company the domain is registered with and whether you can log into that account. If it’s in someone else’s account, get in touch with them and ask them to move it into an account your business owns. The exact steps depend on the company and the type of domain, but it can nearly always be sorted.

Should I keep my domain and hosting with the same company?

You can, but you don’t have to. I usually suggest keeping them apart. That way, if you ever want to change hosting companies, your domain stays put and everything is simpler.

Take control of your business website

Your website is one of the most important things your business owns.

You don’t need to understand every technical detail behind it. But you should know what you own, where it lives and how to get into it.

That’s something I build into the way I work with my own clients. I never want a website I’ve made to feel like a mystery, or like something only I can look after. I want my clients to feel confident. They should understand their website, have control of their important accounts and know who to call when they need a hand.

If you’re planning a new website, struggling with the one you have, or you’ve inherited a setup nobody quite understands, I’d love to help you untangle it and work out what to do next.

Need help with your website? Get in touch today.