“You own the website” is a sentence that means different things to different studios. Before you pay, split it into four items: domain, content, code, and hosting.
Domain
The domain should sit in an account your business can log in to. If the studio registers it, ask for the registrar name and for the account to be in your name. Losing access to the domain means losing the address customers already know, even if the design files are yours.
Content
Pages, room descriptions, tour details, and photos you provide are your material. Keep a copy of the text and the original photos outside the website. If the only copy lives inside a builder you cannot log in to, you do not really have it.
Code and design
Ask which of these you can take with you:
- The page designs
- The theme or template, and whether its licence allows you to move host
- Custom features, such as a booking form or a property search
- The admin login
A managed site can include hosting and edits for a monthly fee. That is a fair trade when it is written down. It is a poor trade when cancelling the fee also deletes the only copy of your pages. Phuketians separates a custom website you own from a managed site that includes hosting and updates. Read that distinction before you choose.
Hosting and email
Email at your own domain is easy to break during a move if nobody knows where the mailbox is hosted. Write down the host, the login owner, and who pays the renewal.
If you want this checked against a proposal, request a quote and ask the same four questions of every studio on your list.
People also ask
Short answers to the questions people type into Google and AI search.
Should the client own the domain name?
Yes. Register the domain in the business name, or transfer it to an account you control. A domain that lives only in an agency login is difficult to move.
Do I own the words and photos on the site?
You should own the text and photos you supplied, and the pages written for you, unless a contract says otherwise. Stock photos and third-party fonts follow their own licences.
What if the website is a monthly plan?
Ask what stays online if you cancel, and whether you can export the content. Hosting, updates, and support can be monthly. Your words and photos should not be trapped.
Is custom code different from a template?
A template is often licensed, not sold outright. Custom pages built for your business should be described in the agreement so you know what you can keep.