If you leave your website company, what do you actually own?

When you leave a website company, what you keep depends on three separate things: the domain name, your content and data, and the code the site runs on. The domain matters most, because it's your address and usually your email too, and it should be registered in your name. Your words, photos and customer enquiries should be yours to export. The code is the one that varies most between companies, and you should know the answer before you sign.

This article shows how to check each of the three yourself, including how to see who holds your .co.za today. It ends with exactly what we hand over when a client leaves, because you should be able to ask any web company the same question and get an answer this plain. Our website service page has the same terms.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice.

What are the three parts of a website?

Part	What it is	What happens if you lose it
Domain	Your address, like yourbusiness.co.za. It also carries your email.	Customers can't find you, your email stops, and your Google history is tied to an address you don't control.
Content and data	Your text, photos, blog posts, enquiries, customer lists and orders	You start again from memory and old emails.
Code and platform	The software that builds the pages and runs forms, admin and checkout	The site has to be rebuilt somewhere else. Annoying and costly, but survivable.

Most people who've been burnt by a web company lost the first one. It's also the easiest to protect.

How do I check who owns my .co.za domain?

South Africa's commercial domains (.co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za) are run by the ZA Registry Consortium, known as ZARC. You never deal with ZARC directly. Your domain is managed through a registrar, which is a company accredited to register domains, such as a hosting company. ZARC keeps a list of accredited registrars.

To see what the registry holds about your domain, use the ZARC WHOIS lookup. A WHOIS lookup is a public search of the registry's records. You can also run it from a Mac or Linux terminal:

whois -h coza-whois.registry.net.za yourbusiness.co.za

We ran it on our own domain on 23 September 2026. It showed:

• Registrar: the company that manages the domain, and its website
• Expiry date: when it has to be renewed
• Name servers: which company's servers answer for the domain, which tells you who controls where the website and email point
• Registrant country and organisation

It didn't show the registrant's name or email. Those fields said to "contact the RDDS service of the listed Registrar" for registrant details. RDDS is the registration data service, so in practice this means: ask the registrar.

So the WHOIS gives you the registrar's name. Then:

1. Contact that registrar and ask them to confirm, in writing, the registrant name and email on your domain.
2. If you have a login with the registrar, check the contact details there.
3. If the registrant is your web company, or a developer who has since moved on, ask them to change it to you now, while everyone is still on speaking terms.

Why does the registrant email matter so much?

Because the registry uses it to ask permission. When you move a .co.za domain to a new registrar, the new registrar starts the transfer, and ZARC emails the registrant a link to accept or deny it. ZARC's registrant FAQ shows the email, and says the domain moves "instantly" once the registrant votes to accept.

ZARC's published policies (section 9.3) spell out what happens if people don't answer. The pending transfer period is 5 days. If the registrant accepts and the old registrar says nothing or objects, the transfer goes through when the 5 days are up. If nobody answers, the transfer is rejected.

In plain terms: if the registrant email is an old address, or your developer's inbox, you can't approve your own transfer.

The same policies say changes to the registrant's details also run through the registrar, with notice emailed to the registrant. A registrant change sits in a 5-day pending period before it takes effect.

Can a registrar hold my domain because of a billing dispute?

No. ZARC's FAQ says: "Our policies do not allow a registrar to lock-in a registrant based on a contractual dispute, by denying or ignoring a transfer request of the registrant's domain." A contract dispute goes to court, and the domain can move in the meantime.

That protection covers the registrant. If the domain was registered in someone else's name, you first need them to change it, or you need a formal route. For registrations that are abusive, South Africa has an alternative dispute resolution process under the .za ADR Regulations. ZADNA, the .za domain authority, says the process starts with mediation. If that fails, an adjudicator from the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law decides. ZADNA lists the adjudication fee as R10 000 for one adjudicator and R24 000 for three (checked September 2026). That's a last resort. A polite written request usually works, and it costs nothing.

Who owns the content and data?

It should be you, but "you own it" means little if you can't get it out. Ask:

• Can I export my pages, blog posts and images myself, or do I have to ask?
• Can I export enquiries, customers and orders as a spreadsheet?
• What happens to my data after I leave, and how long is it kept?

A good answer is a button you can press today. A vague answer is "we'll sort that out when the time comes".

Who owns the code?

This is where web companies differ most, and there's no single right model. What matters is that you know which one you're buying.

• You own the code. You pay for the build, and you receive the files. You then need someone to host, update and secure it, and that is usually a separate monthly bill.
• A website builder such as Wix. The platform isn't yours and can't be moved. Wix states that a site "needs to be hosted and operated on Wix's servers" (Wix Help Center). You keep your content and your domain.
• A licensed platform. The company keeps the code and licenses it to you while you pay. This is how we work, so the next section spells out our terms.

We compare the costs of building it yourself and hiring someone in Wix or a web designer?.

What do we hand over when a client leaves?

Here's how our websites work, in full:

	Who owns it	When you leave
Domain	You, registered in your name	It stays yours. Move it to any registrar.
Content and data	You	Export them any time, not only when you leave.
Platform and code	Sirat Systems, licensed to you while subscribed	Stays with us.
The site's pages		After 30 days' notice you get a static copy that any host can serve.

A static copy means the finished pages saved as ordinary files: your words, images and layout, exactly as visitors see them. Any web host can serve those files. The editing tools, the enquiry inbox and the SEO publishing connection are part of our platform, so they stay with us.

If you want to own the code outright, we're not the right company for you, and that's a perfectly sound choice. Hire a developer who hands over the files, and budget for someone to maintain them.

A five-minute check you can do today

1. Look up your domain on the ZARC WHOIS and note the registrar and expiry date.
2. Ask the registrar to confirm the registrant name and email in writing.
3. Log in to your site's admin and find the export option for your content and enquiries.
4. Find your agreement and read what it says happens when you leave.

If any of those turns up a surprise, fix it while your current company is still answering. If they've already stopped answering, read what to do when your web developer isn't responding.

Where we fit

If you'd like a website where the domain is in your name from day one and the exit terms are in writing before you pay, see our website service or get an estimate on the price page. You can also WhatsApp us on +27 73 453 8352. We reply within one working day.