hello@kootenaymade.ca
Castlegar, BC. Serving the Kootenays and beyond.
9 min
Key takeaways
- Recover the domain first. It carries your web address and your email, and it lapses if nobody renews it.
- A public WHOIS or ICANN Lookup search shows the registrar and the expiry date. CIRA shows a business registrant’s name for a .ca.
- Registrars must hand the registrant a transfer code within five days, under both ICANN and CIRA rules.
- If the designer is the registrant, you need them to act. Send a written request and keep a record.
- This week, put the domain, the hosting and the files in your own name, with two-factor on.
On this page
What should I do if my web designer disappeared?
If your web designer disappeared, get the domain back first, because it carries your web address and your email. Look the name up in a public WHOIS search to see who holds it. Then get into the hosting, save a copy of your content, and only then decide whether to rebuild.
- 01
The domain
It carries your web address and every email address on it. It renews once a year, so a lapsed renewal can take down the site and the email together. This comes first.
- 02
The hosting
The account that runs the site. It might be Wix, Squarespace, WordPress hosting, or a custom setup. Whoever holds this login controls the pages.
- 03
A copy of your content
Your words, photos, blog posts, products and form entries. Save them before anything else changes, so a lost login never means lost work.
- 04
The rebuild decision
Once the first three are safe, you can decide calmly. Keep the site you have, or rebuild it on accounts in your own name.
A site often keeps running for months after a designer goes quiet, as long as the bills are paid. Trouble starts when the renewal date passes and nobody pays. If your site or email has already gone dark, how to tell whether the website is down or the domain expired covers the first hour.
How do I find out who owns my domain?
Search the name in a public lookup. ICANN Lookup covers .com and most other endings, and CIRA’s WHOIS covers .ca. Both show the registrar and the expiry date. A .ca registered to a business also shows the registrant’s name.
- 01For a .com, .net or most other endings, search the name in ICANN Lookup. It shows the registrar, the expiry date and the status.
- 02For a .ca, search the name in CIRA’s WHOIS. A business registrant’s name shows by default. An individual’s name is hidden.
- 03Write down three things: the registrar, the expiry date, and the registrant name if it shows.
- 04If the registrant name is your designer or their company, the registrar takes its instructions from them. The next section covers that case.
- 05If the expiry date is close, put recovery ahead of everything else this week.
The .ca rules have a few extra details, such as who is allowed to hold one. Domain names in Canada, .ca or .com covers them.
How do I get my domain back from a web designer?
It depends on whose name is on the registration. If it is yours, the registrar can help you back into the account. It must also give you a transfer code within five days. If it is the designer’s, the designer has to make the change.
- You are the registrant
- Call the registrar and ask to recover the account. They will ask you to prove who you are. Once you are in, update the contact email to one you control and turn on two-factor. ICANN says a registrar must give you the transfer code, often called the auth code, within five calendar days of your request. CIRA gives the same five days for a .ca.
- Your designer is the registrant
- For a .ca, CIRA’s rules say the current registrant must ask their registrar to change the registrant. For a generic domain like .com, the registrant also controls the move. Either way, you need the designer to act. Send a written request with a date, by every channel you have. For a .ca, CIRA’s Message Delivery Form will pass a message to the registrant for you.
- The registrar will not release it
- For a .ca, CIRA says to contact it if your code has not arrived in five days. For a generic domain, ICANN takes transfer complaints on its own form when a transfer was wrongly denied.
The name on the registration decides who can move the domain. Everything else is paperwork.
A move can lock the domain for a while. ICANN says a 60-day lock can apply after a change to the registrant’s name, organization or email, and CIRA says a transferred .ca cannot move again for 60 days. Do the change once, to the right name.
How do I get access to my website hosting?
Find out where the site runs, then try to get into that account. If the account is in your name, a password reset usually does it. If it is in the designer’s name, the platform’s own ownership rules decide the next step.
- 01Find the host. The registrar shows where the domain points once you can log in, and your old invoices usually name the host too.
- 02Try a password reset with every email address the designer might have used for you.
- 03If the site is on Squarespace, only the current site owner can transfer ownership. The owner invites you as a contributor first, then hands it over.
- 04If the site is on Wix, the owner starts a transfer from the site’s dashboard. You have 3 days to accept, and the domain and business email can move with it.
- 05If the account is in the designer’s name and they do not answer, call the host. Ask what proof it needs to show the business is yours.
How do I save a copy of my website content?
Save it now, while the site still works. Copy the words, download the photos, and export anything your platform lets you export. With a saved copy, a lost login costs you time and nothing more.
- Copy the text of every page into a document, one heading per page.
- Download every photo you own. Keep the original files if you still have them.
- On WordPress, use Tools, then Export, to save posts and pages in one file.
- Export products and customer lists wherever your platform allows it.
- Save recent form messages and bookings you still need to answer.
- If the site is already down, search your address in the Wayback Machine. It may hold saved copies of your pages.
Should I rebuild my website or keep the old one?
Keep it if you got every login back and the site still does its job. Rebuild if you cannot get the hosting or the files, or if the site was already holding the business back.
A site you cannot log in to is a site you cannot fix. Who owns your website, platform by platform explains which parts you can take with you from each one.
When I rebuild a site, every old address is mapped and forwarded to its new home, and the old site stays live until the new one is built and walked through. Pages that already rank keep the words that earn those rankings. The Trailhead is $2,000, or $500 at signing and 12 payments of $142 ($2,204 total) on Own It Monthly. I build from Castlegar for businesses in the Kootenays and anywhere else.
How do I make sure this never happens again?
Put everything in your own name this week, while nothing is on fire. The domain, the hosting account and the files should all belong to the business. Your designer gets access as a user you can remove.
- The domain is registered in your business name, with your own email address and your own card on file.
- Registrar lock and two-factor are switched on for the domain account.
- The hosting account is in your name. Your designer is added as a user you can remove.
- The website files live in an account you own.
- Every login sits in a password manager you control, and one other person you trust knows where.
- The domain renewal date is in your calendar beside your insurance renewal.
This is how I set up every build. The domain is registered in the client’s name with registrar lock and two-factor on, and the files live in the client’s own GitHub account. If you want someone watching the site after launch, every one of my ongoing support plans includes uptime monitoring and emergency handling, the free one included.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. If a designer refuses to hand over a domain or files you paid for, ask a lawyer.
Sources and further reading
- ICANN Lookup
Checked September 23, 2026. The public registration lookup for generic domains such as .com and .net: registrar, dates and status.
- ICANN: FAQs for registrants on transferring your domain name
Read September 23, 2026. The registrar must provide the auth code within five calendar days. A 60-day lock can follow a new registration or a change of registrant details. Wrongly denied transfers go to ICANN as a Transfer Complaint.
- CIRA: .ca WHOIS
Read September 23, 2026. A non-individual registrant’s name shows by default and an individual’s does not. The Message Delivery Form lets CIRA pass a message to the registrant.
- CIRA: how to transfer domains
Read September 23, 2026. The registrar must provide the authorization code within five days, the request comes from the administrative contact’s email, and CIRA can help if the code does not arrive.
- CIRA: General Registration Rules
Read September 23, 2026. A change of registrant is requested by the current registrant through its registrar of record.
- Squarespace Help Center: changing site ownership
Read September 23, 2026. Only the current site owner can transfer ownership, after inviting the new owner as a contributor.
- Wix Help Center: transferring a premium site to another Wix account
Read September 23, 2026. The transfer starts from the site’s dashboard, the invite expires in 3 days, and the domain and business email can move with the site.
- Internet Archive: Wayback Machine
Checked September 23, 2026. A public archive of saved web pages, useful when a site is already offline.
Frequently asked questions
My web designer disappeared. Who owns my website?
Check the pieces one at a time. The domain belongs to whoever is listed as the registrant. The hosting belongs to whoever holds the account. The design and code belong to whoever holds the copyright, which stays with the designer unless your contract assigned it to you in writing.
How do I get the transfer code for my domain?
Ask the registrar while logged in as the registrant, or from the domain’s administrative contact email for a .ca. ICANN and CIRA both say the registrar must provide the code within five days. For a .ca, CIRA says to contact it if the code does not arrive in that time.
Can I get my domain back if the designer registered it in their name?
In most cases, you need their help. For a .ca, CIRA’s rules say the current registrant asks their registrar to change the registrant. Send a written request with a date. CIRA’s Message Delivery Form can reach a .ca registrant whose details are hidden. If that fails, ask a lawyer.
What if my domain is about to expire?
Make it the first job of the week. A lapsed domain takes the website and the email down together. A .ca has an auto-renew grace period set by the registrar, then a 30 day redemption period. After that the name can go to someone else.
How much does it cost to rebuild after a designer disappears?
With me, it costs the same as any new build. The Trailhead is $2,000, or $500 at signing and 12 payments of $142 ($2,204 total) on Own It Monthly. The domain is registered in your name and the files live in your own GitHub account.
Related pages
- Trades and contractor websites
- Professional services websites
- Wellness and clinic websites
- Web design across British Columbia
Kootenay Made Digital
I build websites, local presence, and calm AI setups for Kootenay small businesses. Plain language, published prices, and clear work that makes you easier to find and easier to choose.
