Website Ownership Inventory

Step 1

Define the goal

By the end you’ll have one record that shows who controls each part of your website, when each one renews and who is responsible for it. You can download it as a checklist.

Learn the background first: Lesson 01: Who really owns your website?, Lesson 02: Domain names, hosting and maintenance explained

Step 2

Gather information

Collect only what you need for this exercise. Tick each one as you have it ready.

• Your domain name (for example yourbusiness.com)
• Recent invoices or renewal emails for your domain and hosting
• The name of whoever built your website
• About 20 minutes

The Site Desk never asks for passwords, card numbers or other secrets. Keep those in a password manager.

Step 3

Follow the instructions

1. 1
   Look up your domain

   Go to lookup.icann.org, type your domain and press Lookup. Note the Registrar and the Registry Expiry Date. Contact details are often hidden for privacy; that’s normal.

2. 2
   Find who pays for it

   Search your email for your domain name plus “renewal” or “invoice”. The sender is usually your registrar or host. Whoever receives those emails effectively controls the account.

3. 3
   Find your hosting

   Your hosting invoice names the host. If you can’t find one, ask whoever built the site. On a website builder (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify), the builder is your host.

4. 4
   Check you can log in

   Try logging in to the registrar and host yourself. If you can’t, note who can. Do not record any passwords here.

Step 4

Record your results

Step 5

Verify completion

Step 6

Choose your next action