What happens to your website when you cancel.
Five providers compared on what you keep: the domain, the design, the content and an export.
What happens to my website if I cancel my provider?
It depends on four things: whether the domain is registered to your business, whether copyright in the design was assigned to you, whether the content can be exported, and how long the site stays live after notice. Site builders rarely export a working site, and the domain is usually the piece most often kept.
Do you keep it, or does it stay with them?
"Check current terms" means the provider publishes no plain answer. Ask before you sign.
| Attribute | Keep the domain? | Keep the design? | Keep the content? | Export available? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| askotter | Yes. The domain is registered to your business and you hold the registrar account. | Yes, after six months on a managed plan. Cancel sooner and the website stays with askotter, because there is no build fee. | Yes. Copy, images, Google Business Profile, Analytics and Ads accounts belong to your business. | Yes. Site files on request, with help moving to another host. |
| Wix | Yes. The domain is a separate service and can be transferred away. | No. Wix is a closed platform and a site cannot move to another host. | Partly. Content stays in your Wix account but does not export as a working site. | No full-site export. Content has to be moved by hand. |
| GoDaddy Websites + Marketing | Yes. The domain is a separate product and stays registered until it expires. | No. The builder has no site export. | Partly. Store products export to CSV; page text and images are saved by hand. | No full-site export. |
| Thryv | Check current terms. Domain transfers go through Thryv's URL team. Check the registrant in WHOIS today. | Check current terms. No published export or portability terms. Ask for wind-down terms in writing. | Check current terms. No published answer. Ask about the customer list, reviews and content separately. | Check current terms. No published export path. Ask what you receive and how long the site stays live. |
| UENI | Likely yes. UENI documents domain transfers away, with an administration fee. | Check current terms. UENI says you retain ownership but publishes no export format. | Check current terms. No published export format. Ask whether copy and images arrive as files. | Check current terms. No published export path. Cancellation takes up to five working days. |
Based on each provider's published help pages as of September 2026. Terms change and vary by plan and contract date, so the agreement in front of you governs.
Sources: Wix on cancelling a site plan and domain, Wix on transferring a domain away, GoDaddy Help, Thryv Learn, UENI on transferring a domain away.
Five steps, before you give notice.
Secure the domain before you say anything. Giving notice first is the mistake that is hardest to undo.
Check the registrant
Look the domain up in WHOIS. If your business is not the registrant, fix that first.
Read the termination clause
Find the notice period and the renewal date it runs from. Missing it can cost a full term.
Take a full copy
Save every page's text, every image and every URL while the site is still live.
Secure the accounts
Make your business the owner of Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and ad accounts. Reviews do not rebuild.
Build before you switch
Have the new site live and redirects mapped before DNS moves. See website migration.
askotter is not a clean sweep either.
Complete six months on a managed plan and the site is yours outright. Cancel in month three and the website stays with askotter, because the build is paid for across those six months. The domain and marketing accounts are yours from day one either way.
Questions about cancelling a website provider
Do I lose my domain if I cancel my website provider?
Can I export my website from Wix?
What should I save before cancelling a website?
Who owns my Google Business Profile if my provider set it up?
What happens to my website when I cancel askotter?
Moving off something?
The free audit lists what is live today and what has to move with it.
Self-managed is $99/mo and scales with the compute you use. Our team runs it from $600/mo.