Short answer: yes, every piece is in your name
When a TurnKey website is done, the website files and database, the domain, the hosting account, the analytics, and the content are all in your name, and the whole site can move to any host at any time. Support and SEO are month to month with no long-term contract, so there is nothing to unwind if you leave.
That answer is simple at TurnKey and surprisingly complicated across the industry, because “owning a website” is really five separate things held in five separate places. This page goes through each one, gives you the questions to ask any vendor, explains what leaving looks like, and translates the Portfolio Rights clause in the TurnKey proposal into plain English.
The five things you should own
Swipe or scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Asset | How TurnKey handles it | Ask any vendor | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Registered in an account in your name; TurnKey is a user, never the registrant | Whose name is the registrant on record, and can I log in to the registrar? | The domain was registered “for you” in the designer’s account |
| Hosting account | In your name on managed WordPress hosting; TurnKey has access to do the work | Whose account is the hosting in, and can I see the invoices? | Hosting is bundled into a monthly fee with no account of your own |
| Website files and database | Yours; a full copy can be exported or moved to another host on request | Can I get a complete copy of the site, and will it run somewhere else? | The site only works on the vendor’s platform or theme license |
| Analytics, Search Console, Google Business Profile | Created under a Google account the business controls; TurnKey added as a user | Whose Google account holds these, and am I the owner? | Reports come as PDFs and you have never logged in |
| Content, photos, and logins | Copy and supplied photos are yours; stock licenses in your name; administrator login from day one | Which images are licensed, under whose account, and do I have an admin login? | You can only request edits through the vendor |
Domain: the one that hurts most to get wrong
The domain is the business’s address on the internet, and the person who can log in to the registrar controls it. A domain registered “for you” in a designer’s account is theirs in every way that matters, no matter who paid the renewal. ICANN’s statement of registrants’ benefits and responsibilities puts the relationship plainly: “You are entitled to review this Registration Agreement at any time, and download a copy for your records,” and in return “you must respond to inquiries from your Registrar within fifteen (15) days, and keep your Registrar account data current” (ICANN, Registrants’ Benefits and Responsibilities). You cannot exercise those rights, or meet those responsibilities, if the account is not yours.
TurnKey never registers a client’s domain in a TurnKey account. If a domain is already stuck in a former vendor’s account, getting it transferred is the first task of any project, before design starts.
Hosting: whose account, whose invoice
Managed WordPress hosting is where the site actually lives. TurnKey sets it up in the client’s name and keeps access to do the work; the client sees the invoices and can remove TurnKey’s access in a minute. Some vendors bundle hosting into a monthly fee on an account only they control. That is not automatically bad, but it means the site is being rented, and the question to ask is what happens to the files when the fee stops.
Files, database, and the ability to leave
A WordPress site is a set of files and a database. Both can be copied and moved to any host that runs WordPress, which is one reason TurnKey builds on it; the platform guide covers the platform side of ownership. Some builds, on any platform, depend on a theme license, a page builder subscription, or a proprietary system that stays with the vendor. Ask for a complete copy and whether it will run somewhere else. If the honest answer is no, the layout is not yours; the words and images are.
Analytics and the rest of the Google accounts
Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Tag Manager, and Google Business Profile hold the business’s history, and history is the part that cannot be rebuilt. TurnKey creates these under a Google account the business controls and adds itself as a user. For a client on the local SEO program, the Search Console and GA4 data behind the dashboard is the client’s, which is also why the $1,400 a month guide can say the dashboard and the data stay if the program stops.
The pattern to watch for
The vendors that make leaving hard rarely say so. The pattern looks like this: the site is built on a platform or builder the vendor controls, the domain or hosting sits in their account, the monthly fee keeps the site online, there is no administrator login, reports arrive as PDFs, and the contract runs for a year. Each piece is defensible on its own. Together they mean the business is renting a website, and the first day it tries to leave is the first day it finds out. That model exists on hosted builders and at agencies alike, and it can be a fair deal for a business that wants zero responsibility. It should be called renting, and the price of leaving should be in writing before you sign.
What leaving TurnKey looks like
- You give 30 days notice for support or SEO, by email. No contract to end.
- TurnKey hands over every login it holds on request: WordPress administrator, hosting, registrar if it ever had access, analytics, and any plugin licenses in the business’s name.
- TurnKey removes its own access from the hosting account and the Google properties, or you do.
- The site keeps running exactly as it is. There is nothing to export, rebuild, or re-point.
Most clients stay on month-to-month support because it is useful, not because leaving is hard. That is the test of ownership: leaving should be boring.
The Portfolio Rights clause in plain English
The TurnKey proposal includes a section called Portfolio Rights. In plain English it says four things. First, TurnKey may say you are a client and show the finished site, your name and logo, and a general description of the project in its portfolio, on this website, in proposals, and in case studies. Second, TurnKey will not publish your internal performance data, revenue, or customer information without your written approval; the case studies on this site either use numbers the client approved or report delivery only. Third, you can opt out of portfolio use at any time by written notice, and TurnKey removes the material within ten business days. Fourth, you may publish or talk about the work yourself and credit TurnKey if you like. The clause is about showing the work. It gives TurnKey no rights in the site, the domain, the content, or your data.
Questions to ask any vendor before you sign
- Whose name is the registrant on the domain, and can I log in to the registrar?
- Whose account is the hosting in?
- Will I have an administrator login to the site from day one?
- Whose Google account holds analytics, Search Console, and the Business Profile, and am I the owner?
- Can I get a complete copy of the site, and will it run somewhere else?
- Which images are licensed, and under whose account?
- If I leave, what do I get, how long does it take, and what does it cost?
A good vendor answers all seven in writing. At TurnKey they are in the proposal, and the Phoenix website cost guide and the build timeline guide assume this ownership on every project. I am Ryan Kee, the owner, and I would rather lose a project to a vendor who answers these questions well than win one from a client who did not ask them. Websites start at $2,500; support and SEO are month to month with no contract. Ryan Kee replies, usually the same business day.
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