Problem: the domain isn't yours
If the agency or your former web designer stopped answering, won't share passwords or registered the domain in their own name, don't panic. To recover your domain, start with one question: whose name is it registered in?
For convenience, many web designers register the domain in their own or their agency's name. What counts is who is listed as registrant, not who paid. That isn't automatically bad faith, but it makes you dependent on someone else.
The registrar account, hosting, e-mail and the site's admin panel often all sit in the web designer's account. When the work ends or the person disappears, nobody else has them.
The domain is the address, the hosting is the server, the website is the files and content. They can be with three different companies. Many owners think they have lost everything when only one piece is missing.
Without a contract or an e-mail stating that the domain and website are yours once paid, everyone remembers the deal differently. Most stand-offs start here.
Look the domain up in the registry WHOIS: rotld.ro for .ro, domain.hu for .hu, denic.de for .de, nic.at for .at, and lookup.icann.org for .com and similar. Personal data is often hidden because of the GDPR, but you can usually see the registrar and expiry date. The registrar can confirm whether you are the registrant.
Gather paid invoices, the offer or contract, and any messages about the website and domain. Note the expiry date: if it is close, every week counts.
Send a short, polite e-mail asking for the logins or the authorisation code for the domain transfer (auth or EPP code), plus a copy of the website files. For .com and similar domains, ICANN rules require registrars to give the code to the registrant on request. Set a reasonable deadline.
Open an account in your own name with a registrar, start a domain transfer and enter the code. Check first that no transfer lock is active. After the transfer, change every password and the contact e-mail straight away.
Make a copy of the website and the mailboxes. If you change the DNS servers without preparation, e-mail on the domain can stop for hours or even days.
If the registrant refuses and you can prove you paid, talk to a lawyer. Some domain types also have dispute procedures. Everything here is general information, not legal advice.
If you don't know where to start, I'm Raul, and in a free consultation I'll look at the situation with you: where the domain is, where the hosting is and what can be saved. With me, the domain is registered in the client's name from day one, hosting is included in year one, and once paid, everything belongs to you. If the old site can't be recovered, a new website starts from €499. With monthly care (€69 or €99 a month) I look after renewals, backups and updates, while the logins stay with you. I don't give legal advice: when it's needed, I'll tell you honestly that it's time for a lawyer.
Not necessarily. The registry records the registrant, not who paid the invoice. That's why the domain should be registered in your or your company's name from the start.
A secret code tied to the domain that proves at transfer that you're allowed to move it. The registrant receives it, usually from the registrar account. Without it the transfer won't start. Some country domains use their own procedure, so ask the registrar.
The domain and the site files are separate. You keep the website only if you have a copy of the files or access to the hosting. A site built on a closed platform often can't be moved as it is.
Domain in your name, registrar account on your e-mail, passwords with you, and one written sentence saying the site is yours once paid. You can give a web designer access without giving them ownership.
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Founder of RAGANA Studio, web designer since 2009. I hand-build websites and online shops for businesses in Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany, and run my own online shop, raganadesign.shop. My story →
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