What Happens to Your Website If You Cancel Your Designer

It depends entirely on who owns what. With some designers and directory companies, the site goes dark and you leave with nothing. With me, you keep your domain, your content, and your code. The site stays live to the end of the period you paid for, then comes down, and you get a full export within 10 business days.

Why this matters before you sign

Most people ask about price and never ask about leaving. Then they try to leave, and discover the domain is registered to the designer, the site is rented from a platform, and there's a cancellation fee. Ask first. It's the cheapest moment to learn the answer.

What I do when you cancel

Here is my actual policy, not a sales version.

You tell me by email at logan@garbackidigital.com or by text at (516) 749-7910. There is no portal and no form.

Your site stays live until the end of your current billing period. If you cancel mid-month, there's no prorated refund; the site runs out the period you already paid for, then comes down.

Within 10 business days you receive a ZIP of your full site source code (Next.js), configuration files for deploying it elsewhere, your chatbot configuration, and DNS details so you can point your domain anywhere.

What you keep

• Your domain. It's registered in your name. I hand over full registrar access so you manage renewals and DNS yourself.
• Your content. The text and photos are yours.
• Your code. You can use it, host it, change it, or give it to another developer.

What stops

• Hosting. I stop paying for it. To stay online you'll need to deploy the code elsewhere, typically about $5 to $20 a month on a host like Vercel or Netlify.
• Domain management. I stop handling renewals. Know your renewal date before you cancel so you don't lose the domain.
• The chatbot. It runs on my systems, so it stops responding when your plan ends. The exported configuration lets a developer rebuild it.

There are no penalty fees and no minimum contract. If you come back later, current pricing applies.

What to check with any designer

1. Whose name is the domain registered under? It should be yours. Look it up on the registrar yourself.
2. Can you get the files? Ask what format and how fast.
3. Is the site on a rented platform? Wix and Squarespace sites can't be moved as working sites.
4. Are there cancellation fees or a contract term?
5. Is any of this in writing? Get it in the agreement, not just on the phone.

If you're being cold-called by a "free website" company, these questions matter most. The cost breakdown explains why.

If you're leaving a designer right now

Find out where your domain is registered and get the login. That is the single most important thing. Then ask for your files, photos, and text in writing. If you can't get the domain back, you can still build a new site on a new domain, though you lose the old address.

For a law firm or a shop in Garden City, a lost domain means lost email addresses too, so move it first.

What changes if you move instead of cancel

Some people don't want to leave the web work, just the designer. In that case the export is the whole point. A developer can take the ZIP, deploy it on a standard Node.js host, and keep the site online with nothing rebuilt. Point the domain at the new host from the registrar, and visitors won't notice a change. Ask the new person to check the contact forms and the chatbot first, since those are the pieces that depend on outside services.

There is no pause option. If you need a break, the cleanest path is to cancel, take the export, and sign up again when you're ready. Re-enrolling works like the original signup, at the pricing in effect then.

How I price it

My plan is $500 setup + $80/month, no contract, and you own your site. The pricing page has the details. I don't promise rankings or leads, and the point of the ownership terms is simple: you should be able to leave without being punished for it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I keep my domain if I cancel?

With Garbacki Digital, yes. The domain is registered in your name, and I hand over full registrar access so you control renewals and DNS.

Will my website stay online after I cancel?

It stays live until the end of your current billing period, then comes down. To keep it online you deploy the exported code on your own host, typically about $5 to $20 a month.

Do I get a refund or pay a cancellation fee?

There's no cancellation fee and no minimum contract. There's no prorated refund for a partial month; the site runs out the period you already paid for.

What happens to my AI chatbot?

It runs on my systems, so it stops responding when your plan ends. You receive the chatbot configuration so a developer can set it up elsewhere.