TL;DR
- Usually, no. Leaving means rebuilding. All-in-one providers run your site on their own system, so the site itself doesn’t move.
- What you keep depends on what you own. Your domain, and your text and photos if your contract gives you the copyright.
- Check a few things before you leave, starting with domain ownership, copyright, and email.
- The payoff is ownership. You own the domain, the website files, and your hosting space.
Why Leaving Usually Means Rebuilding
All-in-one providers, like website builders and some marketing companies, host your site in their own proprietary CMS (content management system, the software behind your pages). It only runs on their servers.
- Wix: sites must be hosted on Wix’s servers. Wix says its system “does not support external hosting.”
- Squarespace: exports only some content. Store pages, video blocks, and custom styling don’t export.
So when a site is built in a provider’s own system, moving away means rebuilding the website from scratch.
What You Can Take With You
- Your domain, if it’s registered in your name.
- Your text and photos, if your contract says you own the copyright. See Who Owns My Website, Files, and Plugin Licenses?
- Some exported content, depending on the platform.
Check These Before You Leave
- Who owns your domain, and where it’s registered.
- Who owns the copyright on your content. Look for it in your contract.
- Where your email runs. Moving hosting can break email delivery if it’s not planned.
- What you’d lose. Some providers bundle marketing services that stop when you leave.
Pros and Cons of Leaving
- Pro: ownership. As Beth tells clients, “You own the domain and the website files, and you have ownership of your hosting space, like a lease on office space.”
- Pro: control. You decide what changes and who has access.
- Con: cost. A rebuild costs money up front, and you pay for hosting and care separately.
- Con: bundled services end. Any marketing included with the old provider goes away.
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Get your domain in your name first. See Should I Buy My Domain Through My Webmaster or the Registrar?
- Plan your email before you move anything.
:: Common Questions ::
How Do You Figure Out Where My Site Lives?
We check your domain’s public registration record, its DNS settings (the records that point your domain to your host), and your site’s code. That usually tells us your registrar, your host, and the system your site runs on.
Can You Reuse My Current Content?
Yes, if you own it. We rebuild on WordPress and bring your text and photos with us. Check your current developer’s contract to make sure it assigns you the copyright to the site and its content. Years ago, an attorney we worked with had to rewrite his whole website. The company that built it, one that only builds sites for law firms, kept the copyright to all of his content.
Ready to Own Your Website?
Request a consultation, and we’ll review your current setup with you.
