Whose name should the domain and hosting be in?

Both should be in your name, under your own email; an agency or a designer should only be an authorised user. That way, whoever you work with, your address, your email and your site stay yours.

My agency registered the domain in its own name. What should I do?

Ask your agency to hand the domain over to your account. Moving it from account to account at the same registrar is usually the easiest; moving it to another registrar needs the transfer lock opened and an authorisation (EPP) code.

Who sets up the hosting?

The account is in your name; we set it up. The first 30 days of care after launch are included; after that it continues monthly if you want. You see the invoices and the access.

Can I get a free domain?

Some companies give the first year as a gift; the renewal is still paid, and you need to check whose name the domain is registered in. Paftane doesn’t promise a free domain; the domain is bought in your name.

Whose name should your domain and hosting be in?

Q: What happens after a year?

Domains are rented by the year. Before the term ends, the registrar asks you to renew; keep auto-renew on. A domain that isn’t renewed is suspended, and after a while it can go back on sale. The registrar sets the renewal fee.

Domain, hosting, site: three different things

All three can sit in different places and in different names:

	What it is	Where it comes from	In whose name
Domain	Your address: yourbusiness.com	From a registrar, rented by the year	Yours
Hosting	The server your site’s files live on	From a hosting company	Your account, shared management
Site	Code, design and content	Built by you or the team you work with	Yours on handover

This is also where problems usually start: the site is thought to be yours, but the domain sits in the designer’s account.

Why in your name?

The person or agency you work with may stop the work or become unreachable, or you may fall out. If the domain is in their account, getting your address back takes time.

A hand signing the signature line of a document

Whose name is it in today? Check

It takes five minutes. Every item you answer “no” to is something to talk about:

Is your domain really yours?

The account at the registrar was opened with your email, and the login is yours.
You or your company is named as the registrant.
The renewal is paid from your card and your account.
You can remove the transfer lock and get the authorisation (EPP) code yourself.

Registrant details are often hidden in public records; you can ask your registrar.

Hosting: your account, shared management

The cleanest way: the account is in your name, and the person you work with is added as an authorised user. You see the invoices, and you can remove access whenever you like.

Open the account in your name and with your email.
Give the person you work with access by adding them as a user.

Don’t

Don’t let the designer open the account in their own name.
Don’t share the main account’s password.

At PaftaneHosting, security, careThe account is opened in your name; we handle the setup and the care.

Network cables plugged into a panel in a server room

What happens after a year?

Domains are rented by the year. Keep auto-renew on and make sure your card and email are up to date. For generic extensions like .com, it works like this:

Before it expires
The registrar sends renewal reminders about a month and a week before.
When it expires
The site and the email stop; the domain can still be renewed for a while.
After it is deleted
There is a 30-day redemption period, usually for an extra fee. After that, anyone can register the name.

The registrar sets the renewal fee, and it can differ from the first year’s price.

What do you take with you when you leave?

When you part ways with the person or agency you work with, you should have these:

What you receive

Control of the domain (it should be yours already).
The site’s files or code repository.
The words, the images and the logo’s source files.
Access to analytics and Search Console.
Control of the email accounts.

To move a domain to another registrar you need an authorisation code. The transfer of a newly registered domain, or of one moved in the last 60 days, can be refused.

How does it work at Paftane?

The domain, the hosting, the code and the content are in your name from day one; if you stop working with us, everything goes with you.

The site’s files, the domain and the content handed over to you with a key.

We don’t promise a free domain: the domain is bought from a registrar, in your name. You can see whether the name you want is free with our domain check.

Sources

ICANN: Registrant benefits and responsibilitiesicann.org
ICANN: Expired Registration Recovery Policyicann.org
ICANN: Transferring your domain name, FAQsicann.org

Sources opened and read on 2 November 2026.

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