How do I see who owns the websites a design agency has built for clients?

Ownership of a website has several layers, and they do not always sit together. Start with the client contract for a sample of projects. Does it say who owns the design, the code and the content? Are there transfers on final payment, or does the agency keep rights and license them back? Wording varies, so do not assume.

Then check the practical side. For each site, find out whose name is on the domain, who pays for hosting and who holds the administrator login. A site hosted in the agency’s account with the agency’s domain gives the agency control, whatever the contract says. Make a table with these items for a good number of clients.

Look at the parts the agency did not create: stock images, fonts, plug-ins and templates. Ask how those were licensed and in whose name. Where freelancers did the work, ask whether the agency has their agreements. Finally, ask whether clients have ever asked for their sites to be handed over, and how that went. Your lawyer can explain which of these matter for the price and the agreement you sign. Keep your questions practical when you talk to clients. Asking whether they have their own login to their site usually tells you more than any clause in a contract, and clients tend to answer readily.

Key takeaways

• Read the ownership wording in a sample of client contracts.
• Tabulate domain, hosting and login holders for each site.
• Ask how third-party images, fonts and plug-ins were licensed.