Guides / website-maintenance

How Should a Small Business Manage Its Website?

By Ryan Goering, CEO, BaaDigi · Last updated October 2026 · 58 sources checked

Website management for small business means someone is answerable for three things: keeping the site online (hosting), keeping it healthy (updates, backups, security) and keeping what it says accurate, with every account in the owner’s control. Owners often miss the control part. Hold four accounts in your business’s name: the domain registration, an owner or administrator login to the website, the hosting account and analytics. ICANN defines the domain registrant as the person or entity who registers the name, and says the registrar agreement governs fees, transfers and renewals[1][2]. On WordPress.com, Squarespace and Shopify, only the site or store owner can transfer ownership[3][4][5]. Give helpers their own logins instead of your password; WordPress.com calls password sharing a security risk[6]. Then pick who does the work: you, a hired company (Pantheon’s guide to WordPress maintenance plans puts them anywhere from roughly $30 to over $5,000 a month[7]), or you with your own AI tool. One warning: if your designer set up the builder account, Wix says it cannot help you access someone else’s account, though it has a form to verify ownership of a domain or payment method tied to an account you do not own[8].

BaaDigi sells website maintenance and management, so we compete with companies named on this page. Every outside figure below is from the company’s own pages or a public source, so you can check it.

What is website management?

Three words get used for the same bill, but they cover different jobs. Here is the plain-English split this guide uses.

  • Hosting keeps the site online. A host is the company whose computers store your website’s files and serve them to visitors.
  • Maintenance keeps the site healthy: software updates, backups, security, a working contact form. Our main website maintenance guide covers that checklist in depth.
  • Management adds responsibility. Someone decides what the site says, keeps it accurate, and makes sure the accounts behind it (domain, logins, hosting, analytics) belong to the business, not to whoever built it.

A few terms used below. Your domain is your web address, such as yourbusiness.com, rented year by year from a registrar. A plugin is an add-on that bolts extra features onto a WordPress site. A website builder (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Shopify) bundles the editor and hosting into one subscription.

You can hand off the work of managing a website. You should not hand off ownership of the accounts. If the person who does the work also holds the only keys, you have a single point of failure.

What should a small business own and control?

Four accounts decide whether you can change, move or rescue your website. Check each one is in your business’s name, with a login you personally can use.

The accounts behind a small business website, and how to check who holds them
AccountWhy you should hold itHow to check
Domain registrationICANN says the registrant is the individual or entity who registers the domain, and the terms of the registration, including fees, transfers and renewals, are governed by the agreement with the registrar[1][2]. If a name expires and is not renewed or restored, it may be made available to anyone first-come-first-served[9].Look the domain up in ICANN Lookup, ICANN’s free public registration data tool, which replaced its old WHOIS page; not every field is shown, so also check with the registrar[10]. Then confirm you can log in to the registrar account yourself.
Website login with an owner or administrator roleOn builders, the top role controls transfers. Squarespace administrators can do almost everything the owner can, except transfer ownership[4]. On WordPress.com, only the Site Owner can transfer ownership[3]. On Wix, the owner role can only be reassigned by transferring the site[11].Log in with your own account and open the users or permissions page (each platform below). Your name should appear as owner, or at least administrator.
Hosting accountFor a self-hosted WordPress site you log in through your hosting provider, not WordPress.com[12]. The WordPress.org pages we read describe no ownership-transfer feature for self-hosted sites. In practice, check who holds the Administrator logins, the hosting account and the domain (our reasoning, not a WordPress.org statement).Find out which company bills for hosting and whose card pays it. Ask for your own login to that account, not a shared one.
AnalyticsYour visitor history lives in the analytics account. (This row is our guidance. Google Analytics help says only an account-level Administrator can assign roles[13]; none of the sources we read cover who should own the account.)Ask whoever set it up which account it sits in, and to add your own login as an Administrator.

Secure the accounts you hold. CISA, the US cybersecurity agency, says to enable multifactor authentication (a code from your phone on top of the password) on all admin accounts[14]. It says weak or stolen passwords are one of the easiest ways criminals get into business accounts, and recommends long, random, unique passwords kept in a password manager[15].

Nothing on this page is legal advice. Where we describe domain registrant rights or ownership transfer, we report only what ICANN or the platform’s own help pages say. Your registrar agreement and the platform’s terms are what apply to you.

How do you find out what your website is built on and who has access?

Start with the platform, because it tells you where the logins live. Free lookup tools do it in seconds: Wappalyzer says it identifies technology by inspecting a site’s source code, HTTP headers, cookies and JavaScript variables[16], and BuiltWith builds a technology profile from a site’s publicly visible code[17]. You can also check a few signs yourself:

  • WordPress: it prints a "generator" tag into the page’s hidden header code[18], and its login page is wp-login.php on the site, for example yoursite.com/wp-login.php[19].
  • Squarespace: add /config to the end of your domain, like yourdomain.com/config, to reach the login[20].
  • Webflow: guest editors can reach the Editor by adding ?edit to the end of any live page address[21].
  • Shopify: the admin login is shopify.com/admin[22]. Wappalyzer says checking for a global "Shopify" JavaScript variable on the page is the most reliable test[16].
  • Wix: the editor opens from the site’s dashboard with Edit Site or Design Site, so you need the Wix account that owns the site[23].
  • Google Sites: a new site is added to Google Drive like other Drive files, so it belongs to a Google account[24].
  • Weebly: Weebly customers are being asked to swap their Weebly login for a Square account and sign in at squareup.com[25].

Once you know the platform, check who has access. Each platform documents it differently.

Who can get in, and who can transfer ownership, per platform help pages (checked October 1, 2026)
PlatformHow people get accessWho can transfer ownership
WordPress (self-hosted)An administrator adds people on Users > Add New and assigns a role; each person logs in with their own account[26]. An Editor can publish and manage everyone’s posts; an Administrator has all admin features[27].No transfer feature in the pages we read. Our guidance: check who holds the Administrator users, the hosting account and the domain.
WordPress.comUsers > All Users > Add a team member, so people get their own account instead of your password[6]."Only the Site Owner (the user that created the site) can transfer the site ownership to another administrator."[3]
WixThe owner invites people and assigns roles, such as Admin (Co-Owner) or Website Manager[11].The owner role moves only by transferring the site[11]. Wix’s transfer help page is about transferring a copy of a site and says contacts, orders and invoices are not copied over[28].
SquarespaceInvite contributors by email; each needs their own Squarespace account[29].Only the owner, through Permissions & Ownership > Transfer Ownership; this also transfers subscriptions and Squarespace domains attached to the site[30].
GoDaddy Websites + MarketingInvite users with Employee, Manager or Admin roles; a Manager can also publish or unpublish[31]. A web designer can be invited as a delegate instead[32].Not documented in the pages we read.
ShopifyStaff accounts with roles and permissions, plus collaborator accounts for Shopify Partners[33].Only the store owner, via Settings > Users or Settings > General > Transfer store[5]. (Shopify Plus stores: contact Plus Support.)
WebflowWorkspace roles of Owner, Admin, Designer and Content Editor; Content Editors only get the simplified Editor[34]. Clients can give a guest per-site access[35].Workspace ownership moves by request; the new owner must already be a Workspace member with the role they will inherit[36].
Google SitesShare, enter an email address, choose Editor[37].Share, then next to the person’s name choose Make owner[37].
Square Online / WeeblyAccount owners or team members with online permissions can edit the site[38].Not documented in the pages we read.

What if your web designer has the only login?

This is the most common lockout, and the fix depends on the platform. Ask the designer first; most platforms are built for a clean handover. If that fails, here is what each platform’s help pages say.

  • WordPress (self-hosted): use the "Lost your password?" link on the login page[19]. The new password goes to the email on file, so if that is the designer’s address, it goes to them. WordPress.org also notes usernames and passwords are case-sensitive[39]. If you cannot get back in, WordPress.com says to log in to a self-hosted site through your hosting provider[12], and WordPress.org’s other reset methods (database, FTP, command line) need access through the host[19].
  • WordPress.com: only the Site Owner can transfer, and only to an administrator[3], so ask to be added as an administrator first.
  • Wix: if someone else manages the Wix account, Wix says to contact them directly, because it cannot help you access someone else’s account; for a domain or payment method tied to an account you do not own, it points you to its Account Recovery form to verify ownership[8]. If the account is yours but you lost the login email and have no recovery phone, Wix points you to its Account Recovery form[8]. A designer who built the site in their own account can keep a copy and transfer the site to yours, but Wix says contacts, orders and invoices are not copied over[28].
  • Squarespace: before a transfer, the new owner is invited as a contributor and must accept; only the current owner can then transfer[30]. Use the same login method you signed up with (email, Apple, Facebook or Google)[20]. If the site was bought through a reseller, Squarespace says to contact the reseller to regain lost access, and Squarespace itself for changing site ownership[40].
  • GoDaddy: a delegate can open and use your products but cannot see or change payment methods and passwords[32]. How to transfer a Websites + Marketing site is not documented in the pages we read.
  • Shopify: only the store owner can change or transfer ownership[5].
  • Webflow: workspace ownership moves by request, and the new owner has to be a member first[36].
  • Google Sites: the owner uses Share > Make owner[37].
  • Square Online / Weebly: ownership transfer is not documented in the pages we read.

For the domain, ICANN says registrants have rights, including access to information from the registrar on managing, transferring, renewing and restoring the registration[1]. ICANN itself does not have the authority to transfer domain names back to you[41]. If the name has already expired, ICANN says the registrar must let it be restored during the 30-day Redemption Grace Period[42].

Do this while relations are good. A handover is a five-minute favor today and can be a dead end after a dispute. WordPress.com says sharing your password is a security risk[6]. Wix and GoDaddy both give helpers their own invited role or delegate access[11][32].

What does a small business need to do, and how often?

Our main website maintenance guide has the full task list. These are the only cadences we found in primary sources:

  • Backups: WordPress’s own docs suggest weekly for smaller sites and daily for busy ones, and keeping at least 3–5 recent backups in different locations[43]. CISA says to test that you can restore, and roll back at least seven days if needed[44].
  • Software updates: WordPress says that from version 3.7 most sites can apply minor and security updates automatically; major releases still need someone to click "Update Now"[45]. The FTC says to set a schedule for updates and turn on automatic updates, without naming a frequency[46].
  • Domain renewal: ICANN says registrations typically run 1–10 years and must be renewed with your registrar before they expire[41].
  • Content: no primary source we found sets a schedule. Google describes "query deserves freshness" systems that favor fresher content only for searches where it would be expected[47]. Update pages when something about your business changes.

Do it yourself, hire it out, or use AI?

There are three ways to run a small business website. They differ mostly in who does the routine work and how much you pay for small changes.

Do it yourself. Every major builder has an editor meant for owners, and several include an AI helper (see below). The cost is your time, and the risk is that updates and backups slide when you are busy.

Hire a maintenance company or freelancer. Published guides vary widely, and all three below are vendor-authored. WebFX’s cost guide lists “Small Business Website” at $35 to $100 a month and “SMB Business Website” at $125 to $500 a month; the same guide says small businesses typically pay $3,600 to $12,000 a year and lists WebFX’s own WordPress plans from $350 a month[48]. These are WebFX’s own estimates. Pantheon (its page shows no date) puts WordPress maintenance plans at roughly $30 to $5,000+ a month, with mid-tier plans at $100–$300[7]. DreamHost says WordPress maintenance plans typically run from around $50 to over $1,000 a month[49]. All three publishers sell web services themselves. For a sense of labor cost, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median hourly wage for web developers at $44.54 (May 2025)[50], or $92,650 a year[51]. That is what employed developers are paid, not what a freelancer or agency bills you.

Use AI to make your own changes. Several builders now include AI in the editor, but what each one does is narrow and documented:

  • Wix: an AI Tools icon on text boxes creates or improves text[52].
  • Squarespace: Squarespace AI generates first-draft text in text blocks[53].
  • WordPress.com: an AI assistant available on any paid plan[54].
  • Shopify: Sidekick can change theme settings, and you must save its changes manually[55].
  • Webflow: an AI assistant in the Designer helps generate or refine copy[56].
  • Square Online: a Rewrite with AI option in the editing panel; Square says AI text generation needs a Plus or Premium subscription[38].

The other route is to bring your own AI. With BaaDigi’s AI Website Management plan, your site is rebuilt on Next.js and hosted for you, and your own Claude or ChatGPT is connected to it so you can make content changes in plain English[57]. Your words, photos, services and FAQs are kept separate from the code, and your AI can change content only. Every change goes to a preview, automated checks run, you approve it, then it publishes, and every change is saved so it can be rolled back[57]. It is $97 a month plus a one-time $300 setup, month to month, and you pay for your own Claude or ChatGPT subscription[57]. You own the domain, code, content and lead data, and the code is transferred to you if you leave[57].

The $97 plan includes no done-for-you content changes. If you want someone else to make edits, BaaDigi’s Predictable Work Website plan ($147 a month plus $500 setup) adds one update request a month of up to 30 minutes, and Foundation Engine ($297 a month plus $700 setup) has changes done for you[58].

Which option fits you?

  • Do it yourself. Likely a fit if your site is small, you already hold every account in the table above, you are comfortable in your builder’s editor, and you will actually run backups and updates on a schedule.
  • Hire a maintenance company. Likely a fit if your site runs on WordPress with several plugins, takes payments or bookings, or nobody on your team will log in regularly. Before you sign, confirm the domain, hosting and owner login stay in your name.
  • Move to a managed setup you edit with AI. Likely a fit if you mostly pay for small text and photo changes, want to make them yourself in plain English, and want someone else handling hosting, security and support.
  • Any route: if you cannot answer "who holds the domain, the owner login, the hosting and the analytics?", fix that first. It costs nothing and it is the step that prevents a lockout.

Frequently asked questions

What is website management?
Website management is running a website on a business’s behalf: keeping it online (hosting), keeping it healthy (updates, backups, security), keeping what it says accurate, and making sure the accounts behind it, such as the domain, website login, hosting and analytics, belong to the business.
Who should own my small business website’s domain?
Your business. ICANN defines the registrant as the individual or entity who registers a domain, and the registration terms, including transfers and renewals, are set by the agreement with the registrar. Register it in your business’s name with a registrar account you can log in to, and keep it renewed.
What do I do if my web designer will not give me access?
Ask in writing first. Then follow your platform’s process: Wix says it cannot help you access someone else’s account, Wix also has a form to verify ownership of a domain or payment method tied to an account you do not own; Squarespace, WordPress.com and Shopify let only the owner transfer ownership. For a self-hosted WordPress site, WordPress.com says to log in through your hosting provider. For the domain, ICANN Lookup shows public registration data and your registrar explains its transfer process. This is not legal advice.
How much does website management cost for a small business?
Published vendor guides vary widely. WebFX lists a small business website at $35 to $100 a month but also its own WordPress plans from $350 a month, Pantheon puts WordPress maintenance plans at roughly $30 to $5,000+ a month, and DreamHost says about $50 to over $1,000 a month for WordPress plans. BaaDigi’s AI Website Management plan is $97 a month plus a $300 setup, with you making changes through your own AI.
Can I manage my website with ChatGPT or Claude?
It depends on the setup. Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Shopify, Webflow and Square Online each include an AI helper. Connecting your own ChatGPT or Claude to make site changes needs a setup built for it, such as BaaDigi’s AI Website Management, where your AI edits content only and every change goes to a preview for your approval before it publishes.

Related reading

Sources

Every source was opened and read on the date shown. Vendor prices change; check the vendor's page before buying. How we research: methodology.

  1. ICANN: information for domain name registrants — checked 2026-10-01
  2. ICANN: the domain name registration process — checked 2026-10-01
  3. WordPress.com support: user roles — checked 2026-10-01
  4. Squarespace Help Center: contributor roles and permissions — checked 2026-10-01
  5. Shopify Help Center: change or transfer store ownership — checked 2026-10-01
  6. WordPress.com support: invite people to your site — checked 2026-10-01
  7. Pantheon (vendor-authored): WordPress maintenance plans (page shows no date) — checked 2026-10-01
  8. Wix Help Center: unable to log in to your Wix account — checked 2026-10-01
  9. ICANN compliance: expired domain names — checked 2026-10-01
  10. ICANN Lookup: frequently asked questions — checked 2026-10-01
  11. Wix Help Center: roles and permissions overview — checked 2026-10-01
  12. WordPress.com support: log in — checked 2026-10-01
  13. Google Analytics Help: manage account and property access — checked 2026-10-01
  14. CISA: four cybersecurity essentials for businesses (August 29, 2025) — checked 2026-10-01
  15. CISA: require strong passwords (small and medium businesses) — checked 2026-10-01
  16. Wappalyzer: find out what CMS or framework a website is using — checked 2026-10-01
  17. BuiltWith: indexing usage policy — checked 2026-10-01
  18. WordPress developer reference: wp_generator() — checked 2026-10-01
  19. WordPress.org documentation: reset your password (login page) — checked 2026-10-01
  20. Squarespace Help Center: I can’t log in — checked 2026-10-01
  21. Webflow University: Webflow Editor (glossary) — checked 2026-10-01
  22. Shopify Help Center: Shopify admin — checked 2026-10-01
  23. Wix Help Center: getting started with the Wix Editor — checked 2026-10-01
  24. Google Workspace Learning Center: get started with Sites — checked 2026-10-01
  25. Weebly Help: Weebly and Square FAQ — checked 2026-10-01
  26. WordPress.org documentation: Users Add New screen — checked 2026-10-01
  27. WordPress.org documentation: roles and capabilities — checked 2026-10-01
  28. Wix Help Center: transferring a copy of your site to another Wix account — checked 2026-10-01
  29. Squarespace Help Center: contributors basics — checked 2026-10-01
  30. Squarespace Help Center: change the site owner — checked 2026-10-01
  31. GoDaddy Help: add team members to help manage my account — checked 2026-10-01
  32. GoDaddy Help: invite a delegate to access my account — checked 2026-10-01
  33. Shopify Help Center: users and permissions — checked 2026-10-01
  34. Webflow University: Workspace roles and permissions — checked 2026-10-01
  35. Webflow University: guest role — checked 2026-10-01
  36. Webflow Help Center: transfer Workspace owner — checked 2026-10-01
  37. Google Sites Help: share a site and make someone owner — checked 2026-10-01
  38. Square Support: add and edit text in Square Online — checked 2026-10-01
  39. WordPress.org documentation: login trouble — checked 2026-10-01
  40. Squarespace Help Center: websites purchased through a third-party reseller — checked 2026-10-01
  41. ICANN: renewing your domain name — checked 2026-10-01
  42. ICANN compliance: Redemption Grace Period — checked 2026-10-01
  43. WordPress.org documentation: WordPress backups — checked 2026-10-01
  44. CISA: back up business data (small and medium businesses) — checked 2026-10-01
  45. WordPress.org documentation: updating WordPress — checked 2026-10-01
  46. FTC: cybersecurity for small business — checked 2026-10-01
  47. Google Search Central: guide to Google Search ranking systems — checked 2026-10-01
  48. WebFX (vendor-authored): website maintenance pricing guide (last updated December 19, 2025) — checked 2026-10-01
  49. DreamHost (vendor-authored): WordPress maintenance plans (last updated August 26, 2026) — checked 2026-10-01
  50. US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, web developers (15-1254), hourly median wage, May 2025 (API series OEUN000000000000015125408) — checked 2026-10-01
  51. US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, web developers (15-1254), annual median wage, May 2025 (API series OEUN000000000000015125413) — checked 2026-10-01
  52. Wix Help Center: creating AI-generated text — checked 2026-10-01
  53. Squarespace Help Center: text blocks (Squarespace AI) — checked 2026-10-01
  54. WordPress.com: AI assistant — checked 2026-10-01
  55. Shopify Help Center: Sidekick help and guidance — checked 2026-10-01
  56. Webflow University: welcome to the Webflow UI (AI assistant) — checked 2026-10-01
  57. BaaDigi: AI Website Management pricing and scope — checked 2026-10-01
  58. BaaDigi: website maintenance services and plans — checked 2026-10-01