This happens more than you’d think
I hear some version of this story regularly from business owners across Oakland and Genesee Counties: they paid a developer to build their site, the site looked fine when it launched, but now they can’t change their own phone number without going through their developer, they don’t have the login credentials, or they’re paying $200/month for a “maintenance plan” that they don’t fully understand.
This isn’t always malicious. Sometimes developers set things up under their own accounts out of convenience, not intent. But the outcome is the same: you’re dependent on someone who has no incentive to make you independent.
The 5 signs
Sign 1
You don’t have the login credentials for your own website
If your developer has never sent you the username and password to log into your site’s backend — or your domain registrar, your hosting account, or your Google Analytics — that’s a red flag. You should have admin access to every account associated with your business. If you asked for those credentials today and they were hesitant or vague, pay attention to that reaction.
Sign 2
You’re paying a monthly fee just to keep the site running
A properly built website on modern hosting infrastructure has essentially zero ongoing cost at local business traffic levels. Netlify’s free tier handles millions of page views per month. If you’re paying $100–$300/month to “keep the site running,” one of two things is happening: either you’re on expensive hosting that earns your developer a referral fee, or the monthly fee is artificial leverage that disappears if you stop paying. Neither is acceptable.
Sign 3
Simple changes cost you $75–$200 every time
New phone number, changed hours, a seasonal promotion, updated service list. These are 5-minute edits. If you’re getting invoiced for them, you’re in a maintenance trap. Your developer has deliberately built a site you can’t edit yourself — which means their revenue depends on your ongoing dependence. Every question you can’t answer yourself is a billable event for them.
Sign 4
Your domain is registered under someone else’s name or account
Your domain name is one of the most valuable digital assets your business has. It should be registered in your name, at a registrar you control, with your email address as the account owner. If your developer registered it for you and the account is in their name — or at their preferred registrar — they have real leverage over your business. This is the clearest version of site hostage-taking, and it happens surprisingly often.
Sign 5
They’ve told you “if you cancel, the site goes down”
This is the most explicit version of the problem. A website that disappears when a contract ends is not a website you own — it’s a website you’re renting. It doesn’t matter how good it looks or how much you paid to build it. If the site only exists as long as you keep paying someone, you have no asset. You have a very expensive subscription.
What to do if you recognize any of these
Request your credentials in writing. Send an email asking for admin access to: your hosting account, your domain registrar account, your CMS (WordPress, Wix, etc.), and your analytics. Keep the response on record.
Find out who owns the domain. Go to lookup.icann.org and look up your domain name. The registrant name should be yours. If it’s someone else’s, you have a problem that needs to be resolved before you move forward with anything.
Ask what happens if you cancel. Directly ask your developer: “If I stop paying you tomorrow, does my site stay up?” The answer should be yes. Any hesitation or complicated answer is a signal.
Get a migration plan. A good web designer will help you migrate off a platform you don’t own. I do this regularly for clients who are coming from bad situations — the 7-Day Liftoff includes a full ownership handoff so this never happens to you again.
Why I built the ownership model
Every engagement I do is structured from day one around you owning everything. Domain in your name. Hosting account in your name. Code repository in your name. Analytics in your name. If we stopped working together tomorrow, your site would keep running forever and you could take it anywhere. That’s the way it should work.
If you’re currently in a bad situation with your existing web developer and need a way out, or if you want to build something new without the risk of this happening again, book a free conversation. I’ll look at your current setup and tell you exactly what it would take to get you out of it.